


Come back to me

by AgentOfShip



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Light Angst, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-25
Updated: 2017-04-25
Packaged: 2018-10-23 22:09:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 51,274
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10728255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AgentOfShip/pseuds/AgentOfShip
Summary: To everyone's surprise, Fitz refused to join Coulson's team and Jemma, although sad, went without her best friend. But when Hydra reveals itself, will they find their way back to each other? In every possible way? Set around the end of season one/beginning of season two.





	1. Chapter one

"We looked so young in this picture" Jemma thought as she stopped on what probably was her favorite one of her and Fitz while swiping across the photo gallery on her phone. It's been taken only a year ago but so much had happened since then that somehow it felt like it's been an eternity. Jemma had taken it during a conference where they went to back when they were both working at sci-ops. Fitz didn't even look at the camera, instead he was looking at her with that really soft expression he seemed to reserve for her. She had never been able to capture that before and she missed it so much that it almost hurt to look at the picture now.

Two months after the photo was taken, they received the proposition to go work on the field and join Coulson's team. Jemma immediately thought it was a fantastic opportunity. Being on a mobile team with legends such as Phil Coulson and Melinda May was a huge honor for any SHIELD agent, especially for the two young scientists they were. But a few weeks after that, when they were due to give their answer, Fitz told her he wouldn't go and they had the biggest worst fight they've ever had in seven years of friendship. She always knew he wasn't as adventurous as she was and he never liked the idea of going to the field but she never thought he'd turn down such an opportunity, especially when it meant they weren't going to work together anymore. Since they were paired up during their first year at the academy, they became inseparable. They worked so well together that everyone ended up calling them FitzSimmons like they were both just one half of the same individual, and it often felt like it was true.

So when he gave her the news, it took her breath away. There was a lot of shouting and there was some crying but in the end, none of them changed their mind. Fitz kept repeating that they were scientists, that they didn't even pass their physical evaluation and that the field was just too dangerous for them. And Jemma just couldn't let that opportunity pass. And as sad and miserable as they were at the idea of being separated, they went to the sci-ops director together and told him that Jemma would go and Fitz would stay. Like everyone who knew them, he was incredibly surprised by the news.

When the day of Jemma's departure came, they were both smart enough to know that it was too late to change the other's mind and that they should just enjoy how little time they had left before they were separated, knowing perfectly well that they probably wouldn't see each other again for a long time.

-0- FitzSimmons' apartment, Boston, 8 months ago -0-

"So do you have everything ?" Fitz asked, hovering awkwardly around her as she was making her way towards the door of their shared apartment for what probably was the last time.

"Yeah I think so. And I don't think I can add a single thing to my suitcases anyway." She said with a small smile, pointing towards the three really big wheeled suitcases she was carrying.

"Are you sure you don't want me to come with you to the airport?" He asked with what she thought was an hopeful smile. And as tempting as it was, she knew that the longer they delayed their goodbyes, the harder it would get.

"No that's alright. And anyway it's not a public airport, I don't think they'll let anyone in that's not supposed to be here." She said and there was a flicker of something in his eyes, sadness or guilt she couldn't be sure, but it was soon replaced by a happier expression, even though it was obviously a little forced.

"Oh by the way, I packed a little something extra in one of those suitcases." He said with a small mischievous smile.

"Oh?" She said, curious.

"Yeah, I've been working on it for the last few weeks and I managed to finish just in time for your departure." He started and whatever it was, she smiled at the idea that he actually spent weeks working on something for her even if it still felt like he was mad at her some days. "I made you a full set of dwarves with all the latest modifications." He finished and she felt her eyes starting to sting but she fought the tears that threatened to fall.

"Oh Fitz" She said, like she had said thousands of time since they met. Sometimes it was in exasperation or annoyance, sometimes it was in amusement but this time it was definitely in absolute fondness. The dwarves were a set of seven miniature drones Fitz had created to be used in the field and that Jemma had helped him modify to add new features. "It must have taken you so much time. You didn't have to do that." She said, letting go of her suitcases for a moment to get closer to him.

"Oh that's nothing, and they were created for the field anyway, it's only logical that you should use them." He said, looking down a little shyly. "And anyway, you're gonna need cool toys if you wanna make friends at your new job!" He said with a mischievous smile and they both laughed good-hearteadly.

"Also, that'll give you something to remember me by when you're busy acting all badass on the field." He added and even though he meant it half as a joke, the tears threatened to fall again and she felt such a wave of tenderness for him at this moment that she couldn't help taking him in her arms for a tight hug. She had promised herself that she wouldn't get too emotional but there had always been something in his eyes that had the power to make her tear up so easily, even in moments that were a lot less emotional than this one. For a moment, he went a little rigid and she feared that the hug was too much but then he returned it and held her even closer.

"Fitz, I won't need anything to remember you. You know I'll think of you all the time." She said, her voice a little muffled by the fact that her face was all snuggled against his sweater.

"Yeah ..." He said, his voice as shaky with emotion as hers.

"I'm going to miss you so much but we'll write to each other all the time and call each other and I'm sure I'll manage to come see you at sci-ops once in a while." She said and they both knew it was wishful thinking but he still nodded positively. She would have gladly stayed that way for the rest of the day. Fitz's hugs weren't a frequent thing but they were always the best because when he hugged you, he really meant it. But then her phone biped, alerting her that her taxi was waiting for her outside. Reality was calling. So he let her go but not before gently kissing her on the forehead and telling her he'd miss her too. In seven years of being her best friend, he'd never done that and it was such a tender gesture that it was almost enough for her to change her mind altogether. But she knew she couldn't do that so she gave him the happier smile she could muster, dried her eyes and picked up her suitcase again. He came down with her to help her put her suitcases in the boot of the taxi and gave her one last short hug before she went into the car. As the car was driving away and she looked back to wave at him, she forced herself not to cry again, she couldn't start her new assignment looking like she's been crying all day!

A few days later, when she unpacked the dwarves to use them on the field for the first time, she realized that the fifth dwarf, the one that was Grumpy in the original set, had been named Fitz. And she was glad that she was alone at the time because it made her laugh aloud and cry at the same time and she must have looked like a crazy woman.

-0-0-0-

The first few weeks on the Bus -as they called the plane that was her new home- were a little hard on Jemma. May and Ward were a bit cold but them being specialists, it was to be expected. Mack, the engineer slash mechanic they had recruited to replace Fitz was a good one and a nice man too, but she soon realized that he was nowhere near as smart as Fitz was and they just didn't click like she did with Fitz. Coulson was a nice friendly man and he was really impressed by her. Skye was new to SHIELD and she wasn't even an official agent then but she was the closest to her age and it was hard not to like her with her fun and easy going personality. But she still felt terribly lonely. Fitz's emails and phone calls were like a balm to her heart and once after an especially long and hard day, she even considered asking to leave the team to go back to sci-ops to work with him.

But as time went, she got to know her team better and became friends with most of them. She adjusted to life on the field and she had to admit that their missions were as fascinating as she thought they would be. Months went by and as bad she missed Fitz, their emails and phone calls became less frequent. Things became more complicated and her missions more dangerous and as Fitz got more responsibilities at sci-ops, they just didn't have the time to get in touch as often anymore. Still, there wasn't a day where she didn't think of him, wether it was a joke she said that only him would have understood or a technical problem she knew he could have fixed in no time. But the worst were the few times she really needed a hug, like when Skye was badly injured, and she knew he would have been the only one able to make her feel better.

And then, there was Hydra.

When it all went down, Jemma was with agent Triplett at the Hub. The team had met him and Garrett during a mission not long ago. Once she was reunited with her team and they all discovered that Garrett was Hydra all along and that they could apparently trust agent Triplett, her mind went to Fitz. They soon learned that Sci-ops was controlled by Hydra. A few scientists were lucky enough to escape during the attack or just not be there at the time and had retreated to the Hub once they knew it was under the control of SHIELD and Victoria Hand. The others were either prisoner, had declared their loyalty to Hydra or were dead. Jemma refused to consider the last possibility and even though Coulson told her that she had to at least consider the possibility of him being Hydra, she knew it just couldn't be. Fitz was the most loyal person she ever knew and he was also incredibly smart and resourceful so she had to believe that he found a way to survive.

Jemma pleaded Coulson to go to Sci-Ops for a rescue mission but they just didn't have the men and resources for that at the time. Then, like they didn't suffer enough, they took another blow when they realized that Ward was Hydra and working with Garrett all along. Things were as bad as they could be for a time but then, the team, with the addition of agent Triplett, managed to stop them both and with Fury's toolbox and the Playground, they were starting to rebuild SHIELD.

As she stood in the briefing room waiting for the rest of the team, Jemma reflected upon everything that's happened and she couldn't quite believe that it's only been three weeks since Hydra revealed itself. But on the other hand, three weeks was a terribly long time if Fitz was their prisoner. In the months prior to the attack, they've stayed longer than that without giving each other's news but at least, she always knew he was safe. Who knows what they could have done to him during all this time. Now, the worry was eating her up from the inside and she's barely been able to eat or sleep in the last few days.

So she had taken a decision.

Coulson said no to a rescue mission at Sci-ops several times, each time telling her they didn't have the resources and she understood that. But whatever today's briefing was about, she would go to Coulson after it and ask him again one more time, hoping that things were different now that they had the Playground and a few more agents. And if he still said no, she would leave SHIELD and try to find him on her own. She could go undercover, declare her "loyalty" to Hydra and find a way to get him out. She would do anything humanly possible to get him back, he was the best friend she ever had and it just wasn't possible for her to abandon him.

As she heard the voices of the others approaching, she put her phone away, dried the tear that she didn't even know had fallen as she was looking at the picture, and put a smile on her face just in time to welcome her friends.

A few minutes later, Coulson joined them and the briefing began.

"Everyone, we have a new mission." He started, talking to everyone present but looking especially at Jemma. "It's going to be especially dangerous so I will not order anyone to come. I will brief you and then everyone else at the base and you'll be free to volunteer for it but there'll be no hard feeling if you don't." He continued and they all looked at each other with wide eyes, even May. It really was not regular to do such a thing within SHIELD but then again, things weren't really normal these days.

After a few seconds, May was the one to talk first.

"So what's the mission?" She asked in her usual neutral tone.

"We're getting Sci-Ops back"


	2. Chapter two

At Coulson's words, everyone turned to Jemma. It was so immediate and synchronized that if Coulson't hadn't taken her breath away by saying those few simple words, she would have laughed at how comical it was. They all knew how much she insisted on it. Even Trip who didn't know her for very long had heard of her famous best friend Fitz and knew how much he meant to her. She didn't even bother to try and hide the relief that fell over her. She actually had to hold on to the table for a second for fear that her legs were going to betray her.

"I volunteer" She said once she had managed to regain her calm.

"Yeah I kinda figured ..." Coulson started but he was interrupted.

"Me too" May said without an ounce of hesitation.

"Me too" Skye added almost immediately and she was followed by Trip and Mack. Jemma's heart melted a little at the way her friends volunteered without even knowing what awaited them.

"Count me in" Said Hunter and everyone turned to him. "Wow, that synchronized thing you guys are doing looks amazing. Do they teach you that at SHIELD academy?" When they all kept looking at him without saying a thing, he added: "What? Because I'm a mercenary, I can't be a hero too? I like you guys but we really need more Brits in here and I'm placing a lot of hope in this Fitz guy I heard about. He's Scottish right? I might finally get a decent drinking buddy. No offense Mack" He said, turning to Mack with a teasing smile.

"None taken. Most people don't take pride in being a raging alcoholic" The tall man said and everyone, even May, laughed a little at that. Hunter had joined them only a week ago when Coulson got the "keys" to the Playground base. He was a British mercenary but he was apparently recommended to Coulson by a trusted agent and SHIELD needed every help they could get. He could be annoying and irritating but he also had a rather charming side and he actually had a good heart. Jemma ended up talking to him one night when they came across each other in the same British pub just outside of base. Apparently, they were both home sick and once he let go of the whole mercenary heartless guy attitude, he was actually easy to talk to and it didn't surprise her that much that he was willing to volunteer for such a mission.

"Okay so I'm glad we have everyone on board but we still need a plan of attack and we have very little information. I have an infiltrated agent on the inside who told me that a small group of scientists managed to lock themselves with a lot of dangerous and valuable technologies inside a small area of Sci-ops and so far they managed to stay alive." He said and Jemma's eyes lit up at that but he spoke before she had the time to ask the question.

"She didn't have any name to give me. Our contact was limited but whoever is in there, we're gonna get them back." He said and Jemma gave him a small nervous smile. "Our primary objective will be to get as many people out as possible. Apart from the small rebel alliance in the basement, there are still some scientists in there that are loyal to SHIELD. They had to declare their "loyalty" to Hydra to stay alive but they've been slowing things down as much as they could in the hope that we would come and we will not disappoint them." Coulson said with passion in his voice. Jemma always thought he had the aura of a leader and at this moment, when everyone nodded in approval, it was obvious that he was the right choice to be the new director of SHIELD.

"So how are we going to do that?" Skye asked, saying what everyone was thinking.

"We'll come at them from the inside!" He said with a triumphant smile.

"The building has a secret entrance that dates back to the SSR. We'll have to use an abandoned subway tunnel that leads to the basement. The entrance is apparently not known by anyone from Hydra so our infiltrated agent will meet us there and we'll have to improvise from this point." He said and when he saw May's discreet but knowing smile, he added: "Told you my knowledge of SHIELD history and passion for secret doors would be helpful someday!" and they all couldn't help but smile. "Anyway, all suggestions are welcome to help us put all the chances on our side!"

"Numbers won't be in our favor so we'll need to act quickly, silently and knock as many people out as we can at the same time to stop them from alerting everyone else." May said.

"We have plenty of flash grenades and Mack and I have been working on a mechanism to disperse my dendrotoxine in a big area. I think it will be a good time to test it on the field." Jemma said and they all agreed.

"Yes, that's good. Also, the sooner we can communicate with the people locked in, the better. They have technologies that could probably help us get Hydra down quicker and I bet that after three weeks in there fighting those assholes, they'll be more than enthusiastic to do it!" He said.

"Well if Fitz's in there and he's got his phone, I'll be able to send him a message once I'm close enough. He put a special device in both our phones a long time ago so we could still communicate even when there was no reception at all, as long as we were less than hundred meters away." She said and they all looked at her with amused or confused looks.

"What for?" Skye asked.

"There was no reception in the classroom of our SHIELD history class and it could get a little ... boring ... so since the room was always dead silent, that way we could at least communicate by text messages!" She said a little sheepishly and a delighted smile made its way on Skye's face.

"So someone actually convinced you to get into some bad girl shenanigans. I can't wait to meet that guy!" She said with a terrible english accent and Jemma felt her heart clench a little. As relieved as she was that Coulson finally agreed to go rescue him, there was still no assurance that he was still alive and that Skye would actually meet him someday. But she was also grateful for the young woman's positiveness and she tried to hang on to that as badly as she could.

"But, it's been three weeks, even if he still has his phone, he'll be long dead by now." Coulson said.

"Oh no, it has one of Fitz's modified batteries, just like mine. See, I haven't charged it for three weeks and it still has 60% battery left." She said holding up her phone for everyone to see and they all nodded appreciatively.

"I'm kind of jealous. Why don't all have this? " Coulson asked.

"Still haven't been approved yet. You know how slow those processes are ... well were ... but it's perfectly safe, I can assure you!" She said smiling.

"Now I really want to meet this guy." Skye said and Jemma couldn't help feeling a little proud of her best friend. He wasn't there and he had already impressed them.

"I'm sure he'll be able to make you one once he gets here." Jemma said with a soft smile.

"Okay well that sounds good. Mack, Simmons, prepare all the tech that might prove helpful. Everyone else, get some sleep if you can. I'm gonna brief the rest of the base to see how many volunteers we can get and I want us ready to attack first thing in the morning. Any questions?" Coulson said.

"Yeah, who's our contact? We'll need to be able to recognize her." Trip asked.

"Well some of you know her already. Her name's Bobbie Morse." He said with a playful smile while looking at Hunter.

"What? ... You've got to be kidding me ... Is it too late to unvolunteer?" Hunter said, sighing.

"Yeah, no backsies." Coulson said, smiling even wider. "Everyone dismissed, you know what to do!" He said before leaving the room. Trip, Skye and Jemma exchanged a confused look before noticing that Mack and May were actually looking quite amused.

"Did Hunter ever tell you about his Hellbeast of an ex-wife?" May said with what she probably considered as a full grin.

"Yeah ..." Trip said and then realization dawned on him. "Oh damn ..."

-0-0-0-

After getting every possible piece of useful technology ready and packing an insane amount of medical material in case there were injuries, Jemma tried to get a bit of sleep before the mission. But of course, sleep evaded her as it's been doing for the past few weeks. She tried to concentrate on every detail of the mission to keep her mind from thinking about what terrified her the most: the fact that they might not find Fitz there or worse find him dead.

The next morning, she was up and ready way before sunrise. It would be a short trip from the base to Boston where the Sci-ops building was but they wanted to attack very early to catch them by surprise and because that was the moment where there were the less Hydra agents. Jemma was one of the first persons to board the quinjet. It had been heartwarming to learn that so many people volunteered to go on the mission, even knowing how uncertain and dangerous it might be, to the point where Coulson had to say no to a few people. Since they found the Playground, more agents came back to SHIELD but since it had been labelled a terrorist organization and they were now acting in secret, lots of agents had decided to leave or make a deal with the government. So there werent a lot of them left and they couldn't afford to risk the lives of every single field agents they had.

Jemma was so nervous that, at some point during the flight, Skye had to put her hand on her leg to stop her from moving.

"You need to stop that Jemma, you're making the whole plane shake!" Skye said with a teasing smile.

"Sorry, I'm just a little ..."

"Nervous? Yeah I kinda got that from ... your whole attitude actually." Skye said, her smile growing bigger and Jemma couldn't help smiling back. It was nice having a little distraction.

"it's just that it's been three weeks, so many things could have happened in that time ..."

"Yeah but he's been your friend for years, I'm sure he survived just to avoid making you angry ... You're surprisingly scary for someone so small!" She said, raising her eyebrow.

"You know that's probably something he would say ..." Jemma answered with a small smile and just as she was about to add something, May announced that they were approaching their landing site and would soon start their descent.

"Not much longer to wait now" Skye said, gently squeezing Jemma's shoulder one last time before going back to her seat to buckle up.

-0-0-0-

The quinjet landed as close as they could to the Sci-Ops building. But of course it being in the middle of the city, even if it was still very early in the morning, they couldn't just land anywhere. They had decided on an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of the city five kilometers from Sci-Ops. Thanks to the cloaking device and May's impressive flying skills, they were able to land safely and unnoticed on the roof of said building. It had been decided that they would break in groups of four to five people, each using a different subway station to access the network of abandoned tunnels they would use to access the secret passage to Sci-Ops. There were 30 agents accompanying Jemma, May, Hunter, Trip, Mack and Skye and even in civil clothes, such a big group wouldn't go unnoticed. So they were all given GPS and were due to meet at a specific point in the tunnels before making their way into Sci-Ops all at once.

Jemma went with Hunter and two field agents she had only seen a few times since they settled at the playground. From their landing site, they walked fifteen minutes to get to the subway station they were supposed to use. Hunter tried to make small talk to lighten the mood and she was grateful for it, but as the moment of knowing if Fitz had managed to survive or not approached, she couldn't focus on anything else. So after several minutes of only getting a nod or a tense smile from her, he let go of it and focused on the mission entirely.

Since it was so early, they managed to get down on the tracks and find the service door that led to the abandoned tunnels without being noticed. After that, it became a little more complicated as some parts of the tunnels they were supposed to use weren't accessible anymore. So they had to make several detours but they finally made it to the rendez-vous point. Most teams were already there but they still had to wait fifteen more minutes for Skye's team. Her subway entrance was the farthest from this point so there was an even bigger chance that they stumbled upon the same kinds of problems Jemma and Hunter encountered.

As Jemma was pacing back and forth, waiting for the others to arrive and carry on with the mission, Hunter came to talk to her once more.

"Hey!" He said and she turned around quickly, visibly startled. "Sorry love ... you should sit down, rest a bit. We don't know what's waiting for us in there, you'll need all your strength." he added with a gentle smile.

"Yeah ... I know, it's just I-I can't, I'm too nervous ... it's like I want to get in there as soon as possible and bring back Fitz but in the same time I'm terrified of what we might find ... And what if we're too late or what if we're just ... " She started stopping her pacing for a moment, trying to keep her voice steady.

"Hey hey you did everything you could to make this mission happen ..." He said, gently squeezing her shoulder. "And you know, I might have said Bobbi was a terrible person and everything a few times, and I'm telling you when we're going to see each other it's not going to be pretty, but ... she's very good at pretty much everything she does. Which can be terribly annoying but in this case it's a good thing, I'm sure she did everything to keep your friend and everyone in there alive." He added and the sincere look in his eyes gave her a little hope.

-0-0-0-

Once every one made it to the rendez-vous point, May, Jemma, Hunter and three other agents made it to Sci-Ops' secret entrance for a first recon of the place. May was the most experimented agent, Hunter would be able to recognize Bobbi Morse immediately and Jemma, having worked there, knew the building very well. And anyway no one, even May, would have had the courage to tell her to wait now that they were so close. Like Coulson told them, the door opened to a simple room that opened to a corridor in the basement. There was a simple lock on it that was easy to break and once they got to the other side, there was not a guard in sight and not a single camera. Obviously, it was a forgotten part of the building and they all internally thanked Coulson for his knowledge of SHIELD history. Jemma also promised herself that if the mission was succesful, she would never again dismiss SHIELD history as being a useless classe.

When they got into the corridor, agent Morse wasn't in sight either so they started advancing, looking for any potential danger and an access to the higher levels of the building. There was no elevator coming down here, only what looked like service stairs, which explained that no one from Hydra bothered to come here. As they were turning around towards a darkened hallway -apparently no one even bothered to change the light bulbs in here- they heard a voice coming from somewhere ahead of them.

"Wow, the situation must be worse than I thought if SHIELD is willing to send Lance Hunter for such a sensitive mission." The voice said with a playful tone and Hunter let out a loud sigh.

"And that my friends is the sweet voice of the devil" He said lowering the gun he had automatically pointed towards the voice for a second before recognizing the voice of his ex-wife.

At that the woman stepped out of the darkness and revealed herself. It was obviously very hard not to notice her with her blonde hair, towering height and athletic figure. She was wearing a red jacket and high black leather boots that made her look perfect for the part of an Hydra agent and if Jemma didn't know she could be trusted, she would definitely be scared.

"Hunter ... always nice to see you" She said, rolling her eyes then turned to May. "Agent May, nice to finally meet you."

"Likewise" May answered with her usual neutral tone then Bobbi turned to Jemma with a small knowing smile.

"And you must be Jemma Simmons" She said.

"Oh ... yes I am. How do you ..." Jemma started, surprised that the woman knew her by name, but she was cut.

"I'm a friend of Fitz's, I've seen your picture ... and heard about you ... a lot. I'm not surprised to see you here." She said with what looked like a fond smile. Fitz didn't easily make friends and the woman didn't look like they had much in common. Jemma would have a million questions to ask her about that later but right now, there was only one that really mattered.

"And is he ..." She started but obviously Jemma was quite predictable when it came to Fitz because Bobbi cut her again.

"Yes he's alive"


	3. Chapter three

At those simple words, Jemma let out the breath that she didn't even realize she was holding. The relief she had felt when Coulson had authorized the mission was nothing compared to how she felt right now. Every piece of good news she's ever had paled in comparison to this one. She felt so dizzy that she actually had to put her hands on her knees and force a few large breaths of air into her lungs to keep herself from passing out. But she also forced herself to hold back the tears that were pooling in her eyes. They would fall soon enough but for now she had to keep her head clear. She still had to get to him, wherever he was.

"You alright?" Hunter asked, gently putting his hand on her back.

"Never been better." She answered with the biggest smile he's seen on her face since he met her and he couldn't help smiling back. Her obvious joy was heartwarming and so contagious that even May couldn't stop the small smile that made its way on her face. "So, he is prisoner or is he one of the scientists who managed to lock themselves?" She asked, turning to Bobbi.

"He's actually kind of their ... leader." Bobbi said and Jemma's eyes widened. "I wasn't there when it happened but from what I gathered, the moment the attack started, Fitz went to the room where we stock all their most sensitive technologies, hoping to protect them. He managed to take down a few Hydra agents and actually saved a few scientists on his way." Bobbi added with a big smile, looking almost as proud as Jemma felt hearing those words.

"Wow ... for someone who didn't want to go to the field ..." Jemma said with a small smile even if she did feel a little bitter thinking that with everything that happened in the end, there really was no need for them to be separated for so long.

"My thoughts exactly! That was some quick thinking too. That room is impenetrable except through the only door and the team managed to keep it locked despite Hydra's best efforts to break it" She said as she started moving towards the stairs to the higher levels followed by Jemma, Hunter, May and those other agents.

"And how did they survive these past three weeks?" Jemma asked.

"There's a decontamination shower in there and they filled enough tanks of water before Hydra even thought of cutting them out and by chance, the store room was on the way to this room so they managed to stock up on food before locking themselves in. Again that was some quick thinking but obviously I would count on Fitz to think about food before anything else." She said, grinning and Jemma couldn't help smiling back as it mirrored her exact thoughts at the time.

"Oh so you really do know him quite well? How did you two meet?" Jemma asked, unable to hold her curiosity much longer.

"Ah that's a funny ..." She started but May cut them.

"Ladies, maybe we can keep anecdotes for later and focus on the rescue mission?" She said, with a slightly annoyed tone.

"Of course" Bobbi said, her face getting more serious.

"So do you have a suggestion on how we should lead the attack?"

-0-0-0-

Hydra's arrogance would play a big part in the success of SHIELD's mission. After three weeks and several scientists having been killed for trying to escape or rebel, the ones that were still prisoners were resigned. They had gotten back to work, most of them working as slowly as they could but too depressed to try anything. So Jemma and the team were surprised to learn that Hydra only kept a few guards at each of the six levels where there was still someone working. A few others stayed in the security office and the vast majority of them were stationed around the entrance of the building, because of course that was the only place where they expected an attack to come from, or guarding the entrance to the room full technologies and rebel scientists.

The first part of the plan was easy, Bobbi and two SHIELD agents in tactical suit that could pass for Hydra agents came to the security room and using the element of surprise, they managed to neutralize the agents working there so they could roam freely in the building without being discovered. Bobbi could have managed to do that on her own but they couldn't risk having them warn anyone else before being taken down.

Once it was done, they separated in seven groups for a coordinated attack. Even though, it seemed that it would be less difficult that they imagined, they would still need the element of surprise to avoid being overtaken by Hydra's higher numbers. The six first groups would have to take one level each and take down the Hydra agents using Jemma and Mack's dendrotoxine bombs. They'd risk taking down a few scientists too but better knock them down with a non lethal weapon than risking them taking a bullet.

In the mean time, Jemma went with Bobbi, May and three other agents to free Fitz and the group of rebel scientists. Unfortunately for them, it would be a lot more complicated than on the other floors. The room contained all the technologies Hydra was after so they wouldn't let anyone pass from the inside or the outside. The group of SHIELD agents would have to pass three heavily guarded doors before they could reach the scientists. They could use the same technique the other groups would use on the other floors once but then they'd have to find another way.

"I think I can help" Jemma said when Bobbi said they would need a diversion. "If Fitz still has his phone on him, I can reach him. He probably has something that could blast the door open." She added, looking at the tall woman with a nervous smile.

"But Hydra blocked all reception inside the building ..."

"Doesn't matter, we have a device on both our phones that allows us to communicate even without reception just in case." She answered, blushing slightly at how it could sound like.

"Handy ... and kinda cute" She answered with a slightly teasing smile and Jemma blushed even more. "But yeah it could work, May what do you think?" She added, turning to the older agent.

"Yeah that sounds good. Just tell them to remain in safety until we have taken down every Hydra agent." May said, turning to Jemma.

Once they got as close as they could to Fitz without risking being seen, Jemma sent the text and waited anxiously for an answer.

(From Jemma to Fitz: I'm here with SHIELD we're getting you out of here but we could use a diversion. Could you blow up that door?)

She wanted to ask him how he was and tell him how much she missed him and how happy she was that he was alive. But they needed a fast answer and after all it was probably better to tell him that face to face. Fortunately, she didn't have to wait long for an answer.

(From Fitz to Jemma: How do I know it's really you and not a trick?)

She trusted Bobbi about the fact that he was alive but actually getting a text from him suddenly made it all real and her heart skipped a beat. She could hear his voice, she could hear his accent that was probably a lot stronger, like it always was when he was angry or stressed out and she could imagine the look on his face as he received the text. Confused somewhere between hopefulness and suspicion. And she knew exactly just what to write to reassure him.

(From Jemma to Fitz : Oh Fitz ...)

(From Jemma to Fitz: manscaping)

Bobbi raised her eyebrows at this and Jemma blushed slightly.

"Long story!" She said with an embarrassed smile. But before she had the time to say anything else, Fitz answered.

(From Fitz to Jemma: Okay give me ten minutes)

She didn't know if which one of her texts reassured him. Maybe it was that silly memory from the academy. Fitz had to communicate an information to Jemma using code langage for a practical exercize, she translated one word wrong and ended up with "manscaping". Fitz teased her about it for years and she knew he would remember it. But she also knew he would recognize the way she always said "Oh Fitz" and how it sometimes annoyed him and hoped that he would know this one was pure tenderness.

The ten minutes they had to wait for Fitz and the other scientists to prepare the bomb felt like the longest ten minutes of Jemma's life. Everyone was ready and there was nothing else to do but wait. At some point, Bobbi took something out of her pocket and gave it to Jemma.

"Oh by the way I managed to salvage this from Fitz's lab when Hydra sacked everything in the hopes of finding anything related to what he was working on. I've been meaning to give it to him when he gets out but I think he'll like to get it from you" She said with a gentle smile and Jemma let out a small surprised gasp. it was a small printed version of that same picture of them Jemma had on her phone. He always said he hated photos, she didn't think he'd keep that one and even less print it to keep it with him in his lab. With it came the small plush monkey wearing a lab coat that she left for him in the lab when she went to work with Coulson's team.

"Oh my god I can't believe he kept those ... thank you so much agent Morse" She said with a gentle smile.

"It's just Bobbi and you're welcome ... I could have salvaged other stuff but it looked like those were his most prized possessions. They were always in his top drawer and I caught him looking at them and actually smiling when he thought no one was looking" She said with an amused smile and Jemma couldn't help smiling back. It's true that Fitz tended to be quite grumpy which made his smiles even more precious. She would have given anything to see him smile right now and Bobbi must have seen the nostalgic look in Jemma's eyes because she squeezed her shoulder gently.

"We'll get him back soon" She said with a reassuring smile and at this moment Jemma had trouble acknowledging that she was the same person Hunter had described. She must have been staring for a moment because Bobbi asked:

"What?"

"Oh nothing, it's just ... you're not how I imagined you, the way Hunter talked about you, i thought you would ..."

"... have horns and a pointy tail?" Bobbi finished and Jemma chuckled. "I see that my ex-husband is still a bit dramatic" she finished, rolling her eyes.

"Well yeah I kind of figured that out ... and Fitz doesn't make friends easily so if you befriended him, I'm sure you really can't be that bad." Jemma answered, smiling.

"Yeah and the way Fitz talked about you, I'm kind of disappointed that you don't have a halo around you ... but I'm sure you were worth his praises anyway" She said with a teasing smile. Jemma blushed slightly at this. She didn't think Fitz talked about her to other people and for some reason, it made her heart flutter a bit.

Jemma was about to ask her one more time how they became friends but she was again interrupted by Fitz's text telling her he was ready. As planned, Fitz managed to prepare a bomb in less than ten minutes. Jemma never doubted it anyway. He could probably make a bomb with what you find in any normal house so in this room ...

The coordinated attack was planned for exactly five minutes later. After weeks of doing everything she could to make that mission happen and imagining everything that could go right or wrong, it all went by way more quickly than she ever thought possible. All the time, she was so focused on the task that she acted almost automatically and didn't really realize what was happening around her until it was over.

The bomb went off at the exact same moment she was sending her dendrotoxine bomb to the first group of Hydra agents on their way. A few of them were still conscious when they came in thirty seconds later, but just barely and they were quickly dealt with. Her invention was tested on the field for the first time and she couldn't be happier that it worked as expected. As planned, the second Hydra group was distracted by both the explosion coming from one side and the fighting noises coming from the other. May, Bobbi and the other SHIELD agents used that to their advantage. They managed to take down most of the Hydra agents and even if they were joined by the few ones that weren't touched by the explosion, it was too little too late.

As she was helping to remove the rubbles created by the explosion, she vaguely registered the voices that said how the other teams had completed their mission as well and were now moving towards the ground floor to take down the rest of the Hydra agents there. She couldn't look away from the direction of the now-not so safe room where Fitz was supposed to be. There was still too much dust in the air to see anything else than a few vague silhouettes so she kept moving the rubbles until there was room enough for someone to go through.

When they finally managed to do it, Jemma had to wait a few more minutes. Agent whatshisname insisted that he should go first to check if it was completely safe. She knew she should be grateful and that he was only doing his job but all she could see now was that he was keeping her from Fitz and she just wanted to push him away and finally be able to see her best friend she hadn't seen for more than eight months.

Fortunately, it didn't last long and she was finally able to go through. The room wasn't so big but with all the dust in the air, she still had to scan the room and she almost missed him.

But finally there he was, so wonderfully real. For a second she was a little shocked by how different he looked. Fitz had never been big but three weeks of rationning food had made him lose what little fat he might have had. His clothes were different but so disheveled that she couldn't really say if it suited him or not. But mostly he was paler than she's even seen him and he had a three weeks blond-reddish beard that made him look much older.

But then their eyes met and none of that mattered anymore. He was visibly exhausted but still managed to give her a weak little smile. And those eyes ... Jemma had never known anyone else able to convey so much through his eyes. There was sadness and pain in them but also happiness and relief and so much more and suddenly she couldn't contain her own emotions anymore. She ran the few meters remaining between them and literally threw herself in his arms. He returned her embrace immediately and they hung on to each other so tight that she could barely breathe but it felt like it was the most beautiful and natural thing in the world.


	4. Chapter four

They stayed in each other's arms for a long moment. Jemma noticed a few amused or tender looks directed at them, mostly from her friends. There were also a few annoyed ones from other agents because they were standing in the middle of the room while everyone else was already trying to see what technologies they could pack and bring back to the Quintet. At some point, Jemma also told herself she should be glad to see that some of her old colleagues survived as well. But as she could feel Fitz's tears fall on her neck just like hers were falling on his chest where her head was buried, she couldn't care less about anything not Fitz. His hugs were still the best and his heart beat next to her ear was the most beautiful music she's ever heard.

At some point, she felt him go a lax in her arms so she started to move away from him, thinking he just wanted to break apart but then he started falling. She tried to hold him but, as thin as he got, he was still heavier than she was and she could only slow down his fall and immediately joined him on the floor.

"Fitz, what's wrong? Are you alright? Just give me a minute, I'll get my med kit" She said with a little panic in her voice but he grabbed her hand before she could get up.

"I"m okay Jemma, I'm just a little dizzy, I haven't eaten ... or drank that much recently" He said with a small smile. Of course he was trying to make light of the situation but she could hear his voice was hoarse, his throat obviously dry from dehydration, and she could feel his hand shake a little from stress and exhaustion. It was like he managed to hold on as long as he had to but as soon as he was safe, his body decided it's had enough and refused to go on like that any longer.

"Oh of course ... I-I'm so sorry I should have come sooner, i shouldn't have let you struggle on your own for so long, I swear..." She started as her eyes were starting to tear up again. Her own nerves were starting to act out after trying to control herself for so long.

"Jemma stop ... you came as soon as you could, I know that and I know I don't look my best right now but this is actually the happiest I've ever felt in my life. You must believe me" He said, his smile growing bigger and she could only return it. It was a real smile that went to his eyes as well and it warmed her heart to see it again after so long.

"I've missed you" She blurted out. There was so much more she wanted to say to him and it would have to wait until they were completely safe and he was medically taken care of but this specific thought was so loud in her mind that she couldn't contain it anymore.

"I've missed you too" He said, squeezing the hand that she realized he never let go of. They remained silent for a moment, just smiling at each other until Jemma's brain finally decided to work again.

"Okay, we need to get to the Quinjet, I want you to be in safety as soon as possible. Do you think you can stand up and walk a bit? Because if not, Mack could probably carry you I guess ..." She said but he stopped her.

"No, I'll be fine, I can walk ... but you-you'll stay close to me though?" He asked with a slightly shy smile.

"Always" She answered without really thinking about it. The look they exchanged at this moment made it clear that they were thinking the same thing: they didn't always stay close to each other. Obviously they would need to talk about that too but now was not the time.

She helped him up and once the dizziness dissipated, they started walking towards the door, her arm around his waist and his on her shoulders. On their way to the stairwell, they crossed paths with Bobbi. For a moment, they remained silent just looking at each other and Jemma felt a bit awkward until a smile appeared on Fitz's face.

"I knew you weren't really Hydra" He said, his smile turning to a grin.

"And I knew you'd manage to survive" She said smiling back. "I have things to take care of now, go get him to safety." She added, turning to Jemma.

"Do you need help with anything?" Jemma asked, really hoping she didn't.

"No it's alright, just go!" The tall woman said. "It's nice to see you again Red beard." She said with a teasing grin before fondly ruffling Fitz's hair and walking away. He swat her hand away and rolled his eyes but still couldn't hide the small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

-0-0-0-

The walk back to the Quinjet wasn't easy. Since SHIELD was considered a terrorist organization by the government, they couldn't just go out in the open, through the main entrance. They had to go back the same way they got in. And even though they could now take the shortest way through the tunnels, it was still a long walk for Fitz who was weaker than he liked to admit to Jemma. She had to hold him tight to keep him from falling a few times. His head was spinning every time he had to make an extra effort and even though she knew it was probably just dehydration coupled with exhaustion and vitamine deficiency, she couldn't help being worried.

During the journey, Jemma filled him in on everything that's happened since he locked himself off three weeks ago. He figured out on his own that Hydra had been within SHIELD for some time and that, fortunately, not everyone was corrupted. But locked up with no source of information, he didn't get more than that and Jemma realized that he must have been as worried about her as she's been about him, not knowing if she was alive and safe. Not to forget the question in the corner of both their minds about each other's loyalty. They knew each other more than anyone else but with everything that's happened, they couldn't shake off the possibility entirely until they were reunited. Jemma told him how it went down at the HUB, how their friend betrayed them all, how they found the Playground and finally how Coulson ended up being the new, even though unofficial, director of SHIELD.

When they finally made it to the Quinjet, they knew they would have to wait some time for it to take off and take them back to base so Jemma immediately went for the more extensive medical kit to check on Fitz's vitals. Like she thought, he was dehydrated and exhausted but his pulse was strong. He would need vitamins injections, lots of rest and food but all of that could wait until they were back at the base. And even though he could barely keep his eyes open, he kept wanting to get up and go help everyone bring back material into the Quinjet, arguing that they were invaluable and fragile technologies and that those stupid guys from Operations were going to mess everything up. It made her smile to see that he didn't lose his legendary Scottish grumpiness but she still had to stop him.

"Fitz, with your blood pressure, you shouldn't even be able to stand on your feet. As your doctor, I'm ordering you to come here and sit down." She said with a stern look, patting the sit next to her as an invitation. She knew he hated the doctor argument but it worked most of the time. He looked at her with an expression that was half annoyance and half sheepishness, like a child that's just been scolded, but he still came to sit down next to her. He let his head fall against hers and for a moment, they just enjoyed each other's proximity.

"So ... when we get back to base, Coulson is going to want to talk to you. Of course, he wants you to stay but you will also have the choice to leave SHIELD." She started and he lifted his head and turned to look at her in the eyes. "I know you never wanted to go to the field and it's going to be even more dangerous now, so once your health has improved a bit, you don't have to stay ..." She finished, her voice trailing off at the end. She knew she had to tell him that because she didn't want to force anything on him but just thinking they would be separated again after only just being reunited made her stomach twist. So she was grateful that he didn't let her dwell on that thought too long.

"No Jemma, I'm not going anywhere. My place is within SHIELD and with ... you." He said a little shyly and she let out a big sigh of relief. "Pretty ironic too?" He added with a small chuckle and she looked at him confused.

"That I didn't want to become a field agent because it was too dangerous and ended up in that situation? I think it's a sign from the universe telling me I should never have left your side." He said with an amused smile. But there was also sadness and guilt in his eyes and she knew the reason. It was the same sadness and guilt that plagued her when she was thinking of the day she left Boston and actually realized they really weren't going to see each other for a long time. She didn't know what she should say or do because she felt exactly the same, except she thought she should have been the one to stay and wait for him to be ready. So she just put her head on his shoulder and her hand over the one in his lap.

"Oh Fitz ...." She said, her voice filled with so much affection and he put his other hand over hers as a response.

"You know I regretted it immediately ..." He started and there was even more guilt in his voice. "Not coming with you. The moment I stepped back into our-my apartment and realized that you were really gone, I knew I messed up ... and then when I went to work the next day and saw that Martins of all people had taken your place, I knew for sure that this was the biggest mistake I've ever made"

For a moment, the intensity in his eyes took her breath away. They'd always been able to talk about everything effortlessly, except their feelings. They were each other's best friends but the love and care they shared had always been implicit. Somehow, for some reason she couldn't really explain, they'd always been shy and awkward when it came to telling the other how they felt. Fitz's admission and the way he didn't take his eyes away from her was a big thing and she knew she owed him just as much honesty.

"Fitz ... I-I don't know what ... I ... actually I thought about quitting Coulson's team a few times to go back to working with you." She said with a small smile and he smiled back softly. Maybe it was the tiredness or just the pressure finally going down, but she felt on edge, like all her emotions were bubbling to the surface and she didn't have the words to express how she felt so once more, she took him in her arms, burying her face in his shirt and reveling in the way he held her back tightly, as weak as he was.

"So much for being independent ... it's not like our parents didn't warn us!" He said with a teasing note in his voice and she chuckled. "You know you shouldn't hold me so close, I haven't changed clothes in three weeks, I must smell horrible" He added with a small grin after a few minutes of staying in each other's arms. But this time she didn't laugh and he felt tears falling on his shirt. He moved back slightly to look at her and his expression turned worried.

"What's wrong Jemma? I'm sorry, that was a joke, you can hold me as much as you want ..." He started, gently tilting her chin up to make her look at him.

"I know Fitz, I know, it's just I'm so tired and I've missed this so much ..." She said smiling widely through her tears, thinking she must be looking like a mad woman.

"What, me smelling so bad? I don't remember it happening so often ..." He said and she couldn't help giggling. It's true he didn't smell fantastic but under the surprisingly not so bad smell of sweat, there was still a faint trace of his cologne and that undefinable thing that was just him and felt so incredibly soothing.

"No this ... the way you always know how to make me laugh" She said with a soft expression on her face.

"Oh ..." He said blushing slightly. "Well, you're the only one who understands my jokes most of the time anyway ..." He added and they both chuckled.

"Oh, I almost forgot, I have something for you." She said, standing up to get her back pack. "Bobbi managed to get this back from your lab, she thought you'd like to get it from me ..." She said smiling shyly as she handed him the photograph and little plush monkey.

"Oh wow, Simon ... how did she even know it was there?" He said, his face lighting up like a Christmas tree as he took it from her.

"She said you used to look at it ... quite a lot" She said with a slight teasing tone in her voice and he blushed adorably. "Simon?" She added with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah ... I had to name him after you but since he was obviously a boy well ... Simmons ... Simon" He said a little shyly.

"That's adorable!" She answered as she sat back next to him. "But wait there's more ..." She said with a mischievous smile. She put her hand in her back pack again and took out what looked like a sandwich wrapped in aluminium paper.

"Oh my god, is that ..." He started, his eyes wide.

"Yeah" She said with a big smile. She handed it to him and he took it with so much reverence she couldn't help laughing. "Thought you'd be hungry when we find you so I figured ..." She started but he cut her.

"You're bloody amazing" He said as he took his first bite of the prosciutto and mozzarella sandwich Jemma had made for him. "Oh my god that's the best one you ever made!" She had first made it for him during a late night working session back at the academy. He had loved it so much that it had become some kind of tradition every time they had to work late. He would bring drinks and she would make sandwiches.

She let him enjoy it in silence until she noticed something. "Fitz are you ... crying?" She asked.

"No ..."

"Fiiiitz"

"Okay yeah but it's not me, it's my stomach ... three weeks without real food Jemma ... There's only so much he can handle" He said and she smiled softly as she ruffled his hair affectionately. He made a move to swat her hand away like he did with Bobbi but instead he grabbed it and gave it a gentle squeeze before letting go. her smile grew even softer.

"Really they kept threatening us or saying what a brilliant future we could have at Hydra but I'm telling if they taunted us with pizza, I'd be saying Hail Hydra right now!" He added with a grin and she bumped his shoulder gently.

"They should have known that your stomach would be the first to betray you!" She answered teasingly.

"Exactly" He said as he took another bite of the delicious sandwich.

After he finished his sandwich they remained seated in the quinjet's bay waiting for everyone else to come back. At some point, she realized that he was falling asleep, his head resting on her at an odd angle. Not wanting to add a stiff neck to the list of his troubles, she made him lie down with his head on her lap.

When Skye made it back to the Quinjet with Hunter half an hour later, they found them both asleep, Jemma's hand resting on his chest, fingers slightly intertwined with his.

"So ... they're just best friends right?" Hunter asked Skye with a raised eyebrow.

"Yep ..." She answered, not able to keep herself from swooning at how adorable they were.


	5. Chapter five

"For a supposed genius, you seem to have trouble understanding very simple orders" Jemma said with a smirk as she entered Fitz's room. She had come to check up on him and found the door slightly open, several enthusiastic voices, including Fitz's, coming out of it.

"First of all, you're not supposed to give me orders ... I checked!" Fitz said, turning to Coulson who only gave Jemma an amused grin and she rolled her eyes at both of them. "Second of all, I am a genius, my mom had me tested" He added with a slightly annoyed tone and she couldn't help the small grin tugging at the corner of her lips. It wasn't the first time she teased him on that subject and not the first time he used that argument. "Also technically I didn't even leave my bed" He said with a triumphant grin.

When they finally made it to the base after his rescue, Jemma kept him in the infirmary for several days and he slept all through the first one. All the scientists locked up inside Sci-tech with him has suffered dehydration and exhaustion but Fitz had it especially bad. They started rationing food and water from the beginning, not knowing how long it would last, but they still started to run really low during the last week. And even though he was the youngest, like Bobbi said, Fitz had somehow risen up as the unofficial leader of their little group. He was the most skilled engineer and the one who made it technically possible to resist Hydra for so long but also, to Jemma's surprise since he was always so grumpy, he was the one who motivated everyone to continue. So he was also the one who cut his rations down the most and slept the least to try and find ways to keep going longer. Once his blood pressure had gone back to normal and he didn't look so pale anymore, at least no more than usual, she let him get out of the infirmary to settle in his new room under the condition that he'd remain on bed rest until she decided he was healthy enough to start working again.

"Fitz, when I said you should stay in bed, I meant that you should mostly sleep or I don't know, maybe watch TV, read books or whatever. But working on your bed doesn't count as resting." She said while taking his tablet away from him. She was a little bit annoyed that he didn't follow her orders but still, it's been so long since they worked together and she was curious to see what he was working on. She swat his hand away when he tried to take it back from her and then turned to Coulson, Trip and Mack that were now all looking at them with an amused smile.

"And all three of you should be ashamed of yourselves" She said with a stern look.

"Hey, it's not my fault" Trip said raising his hands. "Mack just said that design for a non lethal gun would work well with your dendrotoxin, I just though it looked cool. Coulson's the one who said we should talk about it with the one who designed it" He added with a little grin as he turned to Coulson.

"Not cool Trip" the older man said with a smirk before turning towards Jemma. "Simmons, I trust you with my life and those of my agents and I value your medical opinion more anyone else's, but it's been almost two weeks and right now, we really need all the help we can get. Like you kept saying for weeks, Fitz is a fantastic engineer and some of his ideas could really help give us the advantage over Hydra. And the sooner he starts working on it, the better" He said and Jemma really appreciated that he didn't order anything and took her medical opinion seriously. She also couldn't help noticing the wide grin that appeared on Fitz's face when Coulson mentioned what she said about him. If Fitz was confident about one thing, it was his intelligence but it still made him feel proud when she was the one to mention it. Jemma considered Coulson's words for a minute until she let out a big sigh.

"Fine fine, I'll show you the new lab tomorrow and you can start working again ..." She said turning to Fitz and he let out a big scream as he fell back on his bed.

"Yes! Thank you! I swear if I had to stay here watching TV one more day, I think I might have smashed the bloody thing to pieces" He said and they all laughed good naturedly.

"... on one condition though ..." She started with a small grin and he looked up at her with a slightly worried expression. "You have to follow the diet I gave you. You have to gain back a few pounds but you cannot gain them by eating only junk food" She finished with a raised eyebrow.

"Urgh Jemma, don't you think I've suffered enough ?" He asked her melodramatically while looking at the three other men for support.

"She's not wrong, you know ..." Mack said and Fitz's face fell down so comically that Jemma couldn't help smiling fondly. He was without a doubt the smartest man she ever met but he could still act so childish sometimes. Which, once in a while, was incredibly annoying but most of the time it was actually kind of amusing and probably one of the reasons he was such a brilliant and creative engineer.

"Don't look at me" Trip said with a grin when Fitz turned to him. "I'm with her on that too, you should treat your body as a temple, that's what I do" He added, winking at Jemma and she smiled back triumphantly.

"Wow, just when I thought we could be friends" Fitz answered with a disgusted face and Trip grinned even wider.

Actually, whatever Fitz said, he actually got along pretty well with Trip and every one else on the team. Trip being a fan of improbable spy gadgets and Mack being an engineer, he hit it off with both men almost immediately. Coulson did not only like Fitz's sometimes crazy ideas but he also had some of his own to propose and Fitz couldn't be happier to work on them, even if, until now, he was officially resting. Fitz's funny Scottish accent and his promise to make her one of his modified cellphone battery was enough to win Skye's heart and as for Hunter, even though he didn't have much in common with Fitz, he managed to become his friend as well. Jemma supposed that they had the same kind of weird snarky British humor most americans didn't understand and even if she didn't want to admit it to his face, because then he would be unstoppable, Fitz was kind of entertaining when he was with Hunter. Fitz never had that many friends apart from her and she was beyond delighted that he managed to fit in this group so fast. First because somehow it was important for her that everyone recognized how wonderful her best friend was. But mostly it was because a lot of things had changed in their life and she knew that Fitz never wanted all of this, so she hoped that being surrounded by friends would make the transition easier for him.

"Fine, I'll eat anything if it means I can finally get back to work" Fitz said, getting Jemma out of her thoughts.

"Come on man, it can't be worst than the rations you had to survive on for three weeks" Mack said with a raised eyebrow and a grin.

"Let me be the judge of that!" Fitz answered as he got up to get the tablet from Jemma's hands.

"Wait, that design does look interesting!" Jemma said, taking the tablet back from him.

"Well, of course it's one of mine" He let out matter of factly. "It's the one Trip was talking to you about that could work with the dendrotoxin".

Jemma examined it, reading the specifications and technical informations, watching its elegant lines, she had always liked the fact that Fitz always thought of the esthetic aspect of things on top of their practicality, until a wide smile appeared on her face as she watched the tiny notes added recently in Fitz's handwriting.

"Yeah it really is quite good ... but we're not calling it the night-night gun!"

-0-0-0-

"And finally, this one is yours. I had it installed while you were at the infirmary. It's just across from my own workstation and it's all brand new and shiny!" Jemma said beaming while pointing towards the glass desk on which was installed a computer with a very large and impressive screen and a few other working tools.

Of course, for Fitz everything was new, the desk but also the room and most of the people surrounding him. He's been the one asking to go back to work but he didn't anticipate it would be all so overwhelming. Having to be in windowless rooms most of the time didn't help either, even if most of them were much bigger and nicer than the one he had been locked up in for weeks. Still, he couldn't help smiling back at Jemma, especially when she put so much effort in and looked so anxious to see his reaction. Just like him, she had changed during the eight months they were separated but when he was close to her, there was still this feeling of familiarity that was incredibly soothing, especially now. And more than anything else, he was so happy to work with her again. He had spent the last eight months thinking about her, about how amazing it was when they worked, or did anything together really, and how stupid he was to let her go on her own. Now he was given a second chance and he wasn't going to mess it up by being too nervous or whatever he was actually feeling.

"But I arranged everything like our old lab at Sci-tech so really it's all the same except ..."

"We're in a secret underground base" He finished for her.

"Yeah ..." She said and they shared a small smile. It had been a while since he finished one of her sentences and it seemed to delight her just as much as it did him. "So I took the liberty of having your hard drive installed on your new computer. Coulson already approved most of your designs so now you just have to start building them ..." She said and he looked at her with wide eyes.

"Wow ... but I've been told it would take at least a few months before they get approved ...if they ever did!" He said and she smiled knowingly.

"I know ... but things work differently now. If something might prove useful in the field, we just build it. That's the good thing about not having to go through all the chain of command to get an authorization" She said and he grinned.

"Well I think I'm going to like that new version of SHIELD" he said sitting on his desk chair to start going through his various designs.

"Me too ... and it's going to be even better now that we're working together again" She said with a shy little smile.

"Yeah ..." he answered, looking up with a tender smile and on impulse, he reached for her waist to give her a quick side hug to which she immediately responded by gently squeezing his shoulder. Fitz had never been extremely prone to physical contact. Of course in so many years of friendship, there had been a few hugs when one of them needed comfort or when there was a good news, and a few kisses on the cheek on birthdays or Christmas but there was always a very specific reason for it. Since he came back from Sci-tech though, he felt a lot more affectionate towards his best friend, like he needed to hug her or touch her arm to make sure she was really here, like she was his anchor in these extremely unstable times. And it seemed that they were in synch concerning that as well because he noticed that Jemma acted the same, never staying far whenever they were in the same room. It was a new aspect of their relationship, he didn't want to question it, it just was and it felt nice and warm.

-0-0-0-

"Am I interrupting anything?" Skye said with a smirk as she entered the room. Jemma and Fitz almost jumped apart at the sound of the young woman's voice. Ever since she found them asleep together in the quinjet, she couldn't stop teasing them about it and asking them if they were really just friends. Jemma told her repeateadly that no, they weren't just friends, they were best friends and that was the reason they were so close. But even if Skye seemed to have accepted that answer, that didn't stop her from asking every occasion she had. After being best friends for so long, they were used to the question and knew that they just had to be patient. Skye would eventually grow bored of asking after a time.

"Oh hello Skye!" Jemma said in an overly cheery tone, ignoring her friend's question. Fitz nodded his head as a way to say hello.

"Oh no you shaved the beard!" Skye said when Fitz turned around.

"Yeah ... didn't want the nickname to stick even if I feel that it's already too late ... and it was never meant to stay anyway!"

"Well that's too bad ... I liked the red beard, made you look even more Scottish!" She said grinning. Somehow, even though his hair was a dark blond, his beard grew a bright red when it was longer than the few millimeters Jemma had only seen him with a few times before when he didn't have time to shave after a late night working session.

"Yes too bad really ..." Jemma added. "You almost looked your age that way" She finished with a smirk and he rolled his eyes at her. Fitz had often been mistaken for younger than he really was, probably a combination of his curly hair, big blue eyes and the way he used to dress, and she liked to tease him about it. But she was actually glad that he shaved it because it hid too much of his face. It was replaced by a light scruff, which was a new thing, and it suited him much better. It made his nice jaw line stand out and more than once she caught herself staring and actually telling herself how handsome her best friend had become.

"So Skye, did you actually want something or did you come so you could both make fun of me?" He said with a raised eyebrow and she flashed him a wide smile, which made him roll his eyes even more, which made her smile even wider.

"I knew you were going back to work today and I heard some of the scientists say it was like magic when you two worked together so ..." She said as she sat on the closest chair and they both raised their eyebrows.

"That's ridiculous!" They both said in unison and Skye just shrugged her shoulders.

"So what? Are you gonna stay there all day and watch us work like a creep?" Fitz said, his accent getting a little stronger as he grew more annoyed.

"Of course no!" She answered. "I have my laptop, I'll work while I wait for the magic to happen" She said with a smirk, pointing towards the laptop she had deposited on the small sofa at the entrance of the lab. Jemma couldn't help smiling at her friend's antics but just as she was about to answer, more people came in. Coulson was closely followed by Bobbie and Hunter who looked a lot more friendly than they were the last time Jemma had seen them together.

"Oh come on, am I the only one who actually wants to work here?" Fitz said falling back into his chair, abandoning the idea of focusing on what was on his computer screen for now.

"Yeah, like that's what you were doing when I came in!" Skye said under her breath but that still owed Fitz and Jemma curious looks from Bobbi and Hunter.

"Actually I'm gonna be working here for a time!" Bobbi said giving Fitz a nudge behind the head.

"Hey!" Fitz said more as an automated reflex than because of any actual pain.

"I'm actually still in rehab from my leg injury so I'll work here unless I'm really needed in the field ... I guess you'll have to bear with me for a little longer" She said with a smirk while walking towards the workstation behind Fitz.

"Oh ... but that's alright ... I don't mind working with you actually ... as long as you don't mess with the system ..." He said with a teasing tone and Jemma knew him well enough to see that he was actually really glad to have her around. Fitz didn't say much about Bobbi but she knew that he valued her friendship. She was glad that Fitz made friends while she was gone, she remembered how lonely he was before they met and she didn't want him to feel that way again. So there was only a very small part of her that felt jealous for not being his only friend anymore, like five percents ... maybe ten ... tops, and she did her best to keep it hidden, knowing how irrational it was.

"Oh yes the system ..." Bobbi said rolling her eyes. "Remind me again how it goes ... B is for blue ..."

"... is for biological" Jemma and Fitz finished in such perfect unison that it almost felt like they rehearsed it and Bobbi couldn't help smiling fondly when she saw them grin happily at each other.

"Anyway Fitz, if you're scared that I will do something wrong, we can always ask Martins to take my place, he was always good at following the rules ..." She said, raising an eyebrow and Fitz's face was suddenly filled with terror.

"No no no no no ... no I'm sure you'll be great, perfect even!" He said and Bobbi grinned. "You shouldn't say his name though, he'll hear it and he'll come ... like ... Voldemort!" He added, his voice barely a whisper, and Jemma rolled her eyes.

"Oh Fitz ... he's not that bad. He might be a bit boring but ..." She started but Bobbi cut her.

"No I'll have to go with Fitz on this one, you're too nice Simmons! That's actually how I met Fitz you know, we were both hiding from Martins! Ended up having lunch on the roof" She said and Fitz chuckled. Jemma's jealousy went up to fifteen percents, knowing that they also shared private jokes and funny memories but she remained in control and still smiled at the thought of the tall and kind of scary woman hiding from someone as harmless as doctor Martins.

"You Bobbi Morse hid from someone?" Hunter asked with an incredulous look, mirroring Jemma's thoughts.

"Well if he was Hydra or any other kind of evil, it'd be simple but I can't really kill him on the account of him being horribly annoying, can I?" She said and Fitz nodded negatively.

"Well I'm not officially an agent of SHIELD so if you guys want me to ..." Hunter started with a smirk before Coulson cut him.

"No you can't!" He said with an annoyed tone, hoping the mercenary was actually joking. "So can we get to what I came here for? Even though I'm starting to question my decision to follow your recommandation to hire Martins agent Simmons ..." He said with a small grin tugging at his lips and Fitz chuckled.

"What, you recommended him?" Fitz said, turning to Jemma with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh Fitz don't be so childish, he's a very good biochemist and you know it." She said, rolling her eyes at him.

"Maybe ... but it'll be on you if any of us gets trapped in an elevator with him talking about his Bonsai trees ... longest twenty minutes of my life!" He said, actually shivering slightly at the memory and Bobbi winced sympathetically.

"So ..." Coulson started, raising his voice to stop them again. "We're going to need your night night gun, or whatever you'll be calling it, as soon as possible. With Hydra infiltrated everywhere, we never know who's an actual enemy and who isn't ... so you can see the appeal of an efficient non lethal gun, right? When do you think it could be ready?" He said, turning towards Fitz and Simmons.

"Oh ... well my dendrotoxin is already perfect and ..." Jemma started.

"my design's a masterpiece so we would only need to ..." Fitz continued.

" ...work on the bullets which ..."

"... shouldn't take too long and then of course we'll need ..."

"... to test it, yeah of course. We don't want any accident that'd be ..."

"... very unfortunate indeed. So ..."

"I should start working on materials simulations ..."

"... and I'll work on the shape and design. Oh did I show you that new program I designed for ..." He said as he started looking for something on his computer and Jemma was already at his side.

"FitzSimmons!" Coulson said, raising his voice to interrupt them. They raised their head in perfect synchrony, a startled look on their faces, having obviously already forgotten they weren't alone. After the initial shock, they shared a small smile at the use of the portemanteau. It had been a while since anyone had called them that and it felt good, like things were finally getting back to normal. "How long?" Coulson said, having trouble keeping his own smile off his face.

"Two days" They both said in unison again.

"Unless we keep getting interrupted ..." Fitz added cheekily.

"Oh wow ..." Skye finally let out, her mouth slightly open. She had been following their exchange like someone watches a tennis match.

"I know ..." Bobbi said with a knowing smile.

"There's two of them" both women said in unison, smiling. Fitz and Simmons turned to them, a look of confusion on their faces. It had always been their normal way of communicating and they never really understood how it could seem so unusual to other people.

"Great! So everyone who has nothing to do here ... out!" Coulson said while looking pointedly at Hunter and Skye.

"What?" the young woman said. "I have work here!" She added, lifting her laptop to prove her point.

"Which you can do anywhere else!" Coulson said and she sighed. Then he turned to Hunter, his eyebrows raised in a silent question.

"Skye told me to come, talked about magic, didn't understand what she was talking about but I had nothing better to do so ..." he started but at Coulson's look, he stood up from the chair he was sitting on and made his way to the door, followed closely by Skye. Of course they didn't go far. Once Coulson was out of sight, they came back and stood discreetly at the entrance of the room.

Inside the lab, Jemma and Fitz had already forgotten everybody else and were on their computer, each working on the part of the job they were supposed to do. They had resumed their earlier conversation, finishing each other's sentences and talking so fast over each other it was a wonder they managed to understand a thing. Not to mention that half the words they were using didn't mean a thing to Skye or Hunter. At some point, Fitz asked something to Jemma and she sent it to him, not even looking away from her screen and Skye almost gasped when he actually caught it in midair without looking away from his screen either. Of course, it seemed like the most natural thing in the world for them and they kept on working like they didn't just do the coolest thing ever.

"See, that's the magic I was talking to you about!" Skye said whispering with a big smile on her face.

"You know right now, I'm starting to hesitate between lovers and twins separated at birth when it comes to those two" Hunter started, whispering back at her with a smirk. "Or maybe both, wouldn't that be interesting?" he added, smiling wider and Skye looked at him with a confused look.

"I've been keeping Fitz company ... that kid watches a lot of crap telly! Good thing he got back to work, I'm telling you" He said and Skye rolled her eyes at him. Like Fitz was the one who watched stupid soap operas when he thought no one else was in the room.

"Anyway ... I'm telling you, it's obviously love. Even their names sound better together." Skye said and Hunter nodded.

"Maybe ... want to bet?"

"Yeah sure ... the twin thing is easy enough to verify though. A few hair, a little DNA test and it's done. The love thing might take some time. They'll need to get their shit together first" She said and Hunter chuckled. "I mean, they've been friends for years. Who knows how much longer it might take them to finally understand?"

"Well given the occasion, we might get to give them a nudge in the right direction"

"Yeah ..." She said and focused on FitzSimmons again. The way they were working together made it look like they were dancing a dance only them knew the steps for, but it was still somehow beautiful to watch. After a few minutes though, she turned back to Hunter with a small teasing grin on her face. "So speaking of love ... how are things with you and Bobbi?"

"Oh shut up Skye!"


	6. Chapter six

Jemma took the two mugs of tea in her hands and after a moment's consideration, she also took a pack of biscuits that she managed to fit in her pocket, and made her way back to the lab. Funny how someone like Fitz, who could gobble an insanely big amount of sweets while watching TV, was also capable of forgetting to eat altogether for a whole day if he was focused on work. He was supposed to be on a very strict diet but a few gluten free biscuits wouldn't hurt until she could get him to have a break and go get a real meal.

When she entered the room, he was deeply focused on his work and didn't even hear her. He was standing up and bent over his desk, his face only inches away from the pieces of electronics he was assembling. He actually built a machine that could do that for him years ago but he still liked to do it himself sometimes, with his bare hands as he liked to say. And she liked to watch him. It was like witnessing an artist at work, or a watchmaker, so she discreetly settled the mugs on a nearby table and did just that for a moment.

Of course that's the moment Daisy chose to sneak up behind her. It was like she had a sixth sense that told her every time Jemma just wanted a quiet moment to appreciate Fitz's presence. It had been three weeks now but after so many months apart, she was still not completely used to it.

"You didn't tell me he was so cute" Daisy whispered with a gentle smile as she settled next to Jemma against the wall.

"Ah ... well I guess he always had a really handsome face but ... yeah his new clothes and the stubble make him look more ... mature too ... suits him well." She stuttered, blushing slightly. She wasn't really comfortable discussing her best friend's appearance.

"Oh yeah more mature ..." Daisy said waggling a suggestive eyebrow and Jemma rolled her eyes.

"Oh come on, there's nothing wrong with objectively noticing someone's good looks. We've been friends for years, of course I noticed it. I noticed you were good looking too, doesn't mean I'm attracted to you" She said, trying to keep her voice low.

"I know, I know, I was just teasing. And thank you by the way. It's just you told me so much about his big brain and his big heart and his humor but nothing about his pretty blue eyes. It's just a nice surprise is all." Daisy said with a gentle smile and Jemma couldn't help smiling back. He did have pretty eyes.

"You're welcome by the way" Bobbi's voice came from behind them and Jemma jumped comically.

"Because we work for a spy agency doesn't mean you should all spend your time sneaking up on people!" Jemma said with an annoyed tone and the other women chuckled. "What should I thank you for anyway?" She added after a time.

"Fitz's new look. He didn't tell you?" The tall woman said with a raised eyebrow.

"Tell me what?" Jemma answered confused.

"I took him shopping. Always thought he had a great potential but he wasted it by dressing like a teenager."

"What?" Jemma let out a little louder than she meant to. "I could never interest him in going shopping once in all the years we've known each other, even when he kept complaining that people thought he was younger." she said, somehow a little annoyed that he let another woman do something he never wanted to do with her after so many years of friendship.

"Don't feel bad Jemma. I did it for him but he wasn't happy about it, I'm telling you. He just knew I could actually kick his pretty ass if he didn't come with me." Bobbi said and Jemma almost choked on her tea at her use of certain words.

"Oh so ... did you-did something happen between ... " Jemma started, feeling increasingly uncomfortable with this conversation. Fitz never gave any hint about him and Bobbi being anything else than friends but the way she just talked about him suddenly made her question their relationship.

"What ... oh no no no no no" Bobbi cut her, laughing loudly and Jemma winced, thinking it was a miracle that Fitz didn't hear her. "No Jemma, he's adorable, really, but I never considered him as anything else than a friend, like a little brother kind of friend ... a good looking little brother though!" She finished with a teasing grin and Jemma chastised herself for feeling so relieved. She had no reason to and the way she so obviously showed it would only bring more teasing from Skye.

"Oh okay ..." She said trying to hide the blush creeping up her face.

"You on the other hand ..." Bobbi started with a knowing smile and Jemma sighed.

"Oh not you too Bobbi, he's only ever been my best friend ..." She started but Bobbi cut her up.

"I know that. I'm just saying that maybe you're starting to look at him from a ... new angle. Actually I know you do" She said and Jemma shook her head in denial. "Jemma, don't forget that I am an interrogation specialist, you have given me like ten visual cues and I'm not even talking about the obvious way you were checking out his butt or how you looked like you wanted to murder me when you thought I had a thing with him" Bobbi finished, raising an eyebrow, daring Jemma to contradict her.

"What-no that's not ...." She stuttered but Bobbi stopped her before she had the time to find what would have probably been a terrible argument.

"Also, with the way he was talking about you, there's definitely more than friendship on his mind as well." Bobbi said and Jemma couldn't fight the curiosity gnawing at her brain.

"Oh really? Why-what did he say?" She said trying to sound as casual as possible.

"Oh you know just comparing everyone and everything to you. I told you I kinda pictured you with a halo over your head when we met!" She said with a teasing grin and Jemma couldn't help smiling back.

"Well it's true we've never worked better than together."

"It's not just the work thing though ..." Bobbi said and as Jemma was about to ask what she meant, she added "Do you know what he did for you?"

"Well Fitz did a lot of things for me over the years ..." Jemma started.

"No I mean something in particular. But he should be the one to tell you. He'll do it in his own time I'm sure. But now that I see you together, some things are becoming much clearer" Once again, Jemma found herself not knowing what to say, which confused her a lot since it happened so rarely. Maybe that's why Fitz became such good friends with her, he liked to be challenged.

"Listen, I'm just gonna tell you this and then I won't bother you about it anymore. If you and Fitz really are just friends and nothing else, then fine. But if there's just a little bit more than that, maybe you should think about it and give it a try, might be worth it ..." the tall woman said with a small smile and Jemma was speechless. It wasn't the first time someone had evoked the idea but people always assumed something was already happening and she just had to dismiss them. No one suggested that she should be the one to make something happen. And as simple as it was, Jemma wasn't prepared to this idea making its way into her brain. The woman was definitely good at her job. "If we've been teasing you about it, it's because from the outside you look perfect for each other and we want nothing else than your happiness." Bobbi added and Jemma couldn't help smiling at the sincerity in her voice.

"Also ..." Skye started "If you want to make a move, make it fast because I'm not the only noticing how cute he is. And he's considered a hero by most of the scientists as well, I've heard talks ... and well some people are very ... interested" She finished and Jemma looked at her with an incredulous expression but the young woman nodded her head to confirm that she was serious.

As Jemma was looking for something to say to prove that she was still in control of her own thoughts, Fitz chose this moment to finally notice the three women's presence. When he turned his head and saw Jemma, he gave her one of those blinding smiles he reserved only for her and she couldn't help smiling back.

"Do you need help with these?" He asked in a soft voice, his smile not faltering.

"Oh no, I'm alright, thank you" She answered just as softly and he went back to work. Jemma didn't even need to turn towards them to see the two women's matching grins. Of course he had to be so perfectly adorable just now.

"Tea's gone cold" Jemma said with a sigh and made her way back to the kitchen before they could say anything else. People had always assumed that two people from the opposite sex couldn't be friends for so long and not at least think of the possibility of being more and Jemma had always dismissed the idea. She loved him more than anything, almost since they first met and it was the most beautiful friendship she ever had. But she was noticing his physical appearance more and more since he came back in her life and Bobbi was right, for some reason she had felt a pang of jealousy when she thought something had happened between them. But it only lasted a second so it didn't really mean anything ... or did it?

As she walked away, she could hear Skye talking to Bobbi. "Man ... what I wouldn't give for a man to look at me like that ..." She said with a sigh and Bobbi smiled in sympathy. It was true that Fitz had the most expressive eyes she's ever seen and Jemma couldn't help smiling at the image of him imprinted in her brain.

-0-0-0-

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Fitz asked turning towards Hunter. He tried to ignore him for a time but the man's stare had been directed at him for several minutes now and it was getting annoying.

"I saw that" The man said with a mischievous smile.

"Saw what?"

"Saw you smile at her"

"Yeah, contrary to popular belief, we Scotsmen happen to smile once in a while." Fitz said with a slightly annoyed tone, not seing where Hunter was going with that.

"Rarely like that though"

"Like I'm thankful for my friend who nicely brought me tea? Yeah mostly happens when someone brings me tea. Also works with food and other beverages though." He said with a playful grin and Hunter sighed.

"No like she's the sun coming out after the storm" He said matter of factly.

"That's beautiful mate, you should write poetry, might be a nice career once you're too old to be a mercenary" Fitz said with the most innocent smile he could muster.

"You know perfectly well what I mean" The brit answered and Fitz saw perfectly well where this was going. Didn't mean he was going to make it easy for him though.

"Not really no. I hate the sun, doesn't agree with my pale complexion. So if she was the sun, I probably wouldn't smile at her at all." He said voluntarily exaggerating his accent.

"You're bloody funny you know that mate?" Hunter said, getting a little exasperated himself, which made Fitz smile even wider.

"And you're not making much sense"

"Fine, you were looking at her like you love her, is that clearer?"

"Well of course I love her, she's been my best friend for years" Fitz said, trying to hide the blush that was creeping up his face against his will.

"Bloody smart ass your are, no wonder you get along so well with Bobbi. What I meant was that you looked at her like you're in love with her" Hunter said and a triumphant grin made its way on his face when he saw Fitz blushing.

"That's ridiculous" He said, trying to keep his voice steady. Jemma had always been better than him at dismissing people who said they looked like a couple.

"And she was looking at you too."

"She wasn't, she was just chatting with Bobbi and Daisy" Fitz answered as if it was the most ridiculous idea in the world. Women never looked at him. Not like that anyway.

"And looking at you. Checking you out even. Even let her tea get cold in the process." He said, suggestively waggling his eyebrows.

"Oh so now you cannot look at someone without being in love with him? Isn't that what you were doing? Oh my god, are you in love with me Hunter?" Fitz said, voluntarily disregarding a specific part of Hunter's sentence.

"You're hilarious really" Hunter said, more and more annoyed at Fitz's unwillingness to discuss the matter.

"No but it all makes sense now. That's why you've been spending so much time here. And I thought that you just had nothing better to do."

"Come on, I'm trying to be serious here ..."

"No really, I'm flattered but I don't like you that way, I'm sorry ... didn't think I was your type either ..." Fitz continued, having way too much fun now to stop.

"Well with your skinny waist and girly hands, you're more feminine than some girls I know ..." He said with a teasing tone and Fitz looked at him with wide eyes and a small grin.

"Seriously mate, the attention is starting to creep me out ... should I speak about it with Coulson?"

"Fine, fine you win, I'm leaving" Hunter said sighing as he stood up from the couch he was half sitting, half lying down on. "I'm gonna say something though and you can laugh all you want, that won't stop the idea from getting to that big brain of yours. There's something special between you too. I don't know what it is but you should at least give it a thought. Because if you don't make a move, someone else will. She's beautiful and smart and a good person too, she won't stay single forever." He said and walked out of the room, not leaving Fitz the time to answer.

The sincerity of Hunter's tone left him speechless and his words did get to Fitz's brain. It was true that Jemma was a good person and the smartest one he ever met. As for her beauty, well of course he always found her pretty, even when they were only sixteen. He would have had to be blind not to notice that but he had to recognize that she was extra beautiful now with her new haircut and slightly more ... form fitting clothes. But it didn't mean anything, he just had to get used to seing her everyday again and the idea of him making a move on her was just unconceivable ... although he didn't like the idea of her getting a new boyfriend.

Stupid Hunter getting stupid ideas into people's brain!

But it was nothing new, he never liked any of her boyfriends. He wasn't jealous, he just always thought they weren't worthy of her. She deserved someone who would realize how amazing she was. How sweet and beautiful and incredibly smart she was. Kind of like he always had ...


	7. Chapter seven

With all the new scientists who arrived at the playground a few weeks ago, Jemma had thought that her workload wouldn't be so big anymore. But since Coulson named her head of the science division, she had to supervise all projects on top of working on her own, most of them with Fitz.

Of course if she was being completely honest it wasn't the only reason she found herself working so late in the lab. Fitz had left early in the morning for his first mission on the field. And even if he would most likely stay on the plane and there were plenty of capable and trustworthy field agents, including May, Skye and Trip, to protect him if necessary, she couldn't help being a little worried. So after giving him all sorts of unnecessary advices, an extensive medkit and his favorite sandwich, there was nothing more she could do so she let him go and fell back into her old habits: drowning herself into work to avoid unpleasant thoughts.

And she did well too. She managed to finish all her analysis on that strange monolith brought back after the team's last mission, finished all the paperwork that had been waiting for her for weeks -taking care of Fitz had been more demanding than she thought, not that she was really complaining about it- and even managed to start working on her part of the new dwarves. The seven original drones would have to welcome new ones really soon. It's only when she stifled a loud yawn and realized that she didn't really need to since she was alone in the lab, and quite probably the only person still working in the whole base, that she decided to go grab a cup of tea before going to bed.

As she left the kitchen, she was so lost in thoughts that she almost crashed into the two people coming in. Jemma thought the two young women were part of all the new people who joined the scientific division after they freed Sci-Ops from Hydra. She felt a bit ashamed not being able to remember their names, her being the head of the science division and all. But when she had asked Fitz to help her, he couldn't even remember half of their names and, just like her, he was supposed to have an excellent memory. He just didn't care much about it and quoted Sherlock saying he had to delete their names from his memory to make room for more important informations. She had rolled her eyes at the time but she couldn't help smiling a bit at the memory now. Of course, she couldn't tolerate not knowing the names of her co-workers so she mentally added going through the files of all the science division to her to-do list.

Half way to her room, she realized that she forgot to take a few biscuits to go with her tea. After such a long and productive day, she thought she deserved a little sweet treat so she went back for it. As she approached the kitchen though, she heard the two young women talking. it sounded like they were talking about a man. With Skye and Bobbi nagging her about Fitz and now that, she felt like she was back in high school sometimes.

"Yeah I agree that he's got that cute boyish charm and the brains too, but last time, well the only time he talked to you actually, he called you Jenny!" The first woman said. Jemma thought she was the blond one. She was close enough to hear them but not to see them already.

"So what?" The other answered.

"Your name's Amy for god's sake!" The first one answered and Jemma had to stifle a laugh.

"Ok so this one's Amy. One less file to look into!" Jemma thought to herself.

"I know but he said it in that really sexy Scottish accent though" Amy answered sighing.

"Wait ... cute boyish charm, brains, Scottish accent ... are they talking about ...." Jemma thought as she stopped walking and remained a few meters from the entrance, wondering if the conversation she was hearing actually was about her best friend. "... is Fitz's accent really sexy? I don't know I guess it's kind of charming ... at least until he gets drunk and I can't understand a word he's saying ..." She thought and couldn't help smiling wistfuly at the memory of the last time they went out to celebrate her birthday and he got drunk ...which was quite the exploit since it took a lot of alcohol to get him in that state. But it was all worth it because she convinced him to dance with her. They hadn't has that much fun since then and she hoped they would have the occasion soon.

"You're pathetic." The first girl said with a slightly annoyed tone. "And it's not like Fitz is available anyway!"

"What?!!" Jemma thought and this time, she deliberately hid behind the kitchen door. She didn't like eavesdropping but if these girls were talking about her best friend, she had to know what they were saying ... to make sure no one said anything bad or wrong about him of course. No other reason at all.

"What?! No he is single. I heard him talk about it with that other British guy!" Amy answered.

"Yeah I know that ..." The other girl said and Jemma sighed out of relief. Mostly because she didn't like the idea of random people knowing more about Fitz's life than she did. Yes mostly because of that. "... but he and Doctor Simmons obviously have a ... thing going on." She finished matter of factly and Jemma sighed out of exasperation this time. It really did feel like being in high school again.

"Well no, they're best friends. A man and a woman are allowed to be friends without anything else going on between them." Amy said, clearly annoyed now.

"Thank you Amy!"

"Well yeah of course but have you seen them together? Can't keep their hands off each other. Sometimes I want to tell them to get a room ..." The girl said and Jemma gasped.

"What?!! So now you can't hug your best friend without people imagining things ... ridiculous! Well once I actually know who you are, blond girl, guess who's gonna get to do the analysis on that gross substance the team brought back on monday?" Jemma said to herself all the while knowing she wouldn't punish someone for something they said in private. At least now she knew she would have to be careful with all the hugs ... in public at least.

"... and anyway Gina is like 90 percents sure that's why he broke up with her!"

"Whaaaat?!!"

"What? did he actually tell her that?" Amy asked, apparently almost as surprised as Jemma was.

"No she thought things were going quite well but after only three weeks, he broke it off saying it wasn't her fault, that it was just not working for him. But she's pretty sure he was in love with someone else and seing how he only ever talked about her ... no need to be Sherlock to solve that one." She said with a small chuckle.

"Oh well ..." Amy answered, disappointment evident in her voice.

"What is that all about? When did Fitz go out with that girl? And why do they know and I don't? What did he say about me?" Jemma said to herself. Obviously she was surprised but most of all, she felt extremely confused about why she was so ... angry at him.

"Sorry Amy ... you can always give it a try though. Might not marry him but you could still have fun ..." the blond girl said with a suggestive tone.

"Like Fitz would ever do that if he's in love with someone else ..." Jemma said to herself, exasperated. "Except he's supposed to be in love with me, which he obviously isn't ..."

"... if anything that Gina told me while they were dating is true, you're in for quite a treat ... if you know what I mean." The girl said, her voice getting even more suggestive.

"Of course, we all know what you mean stupid blond girl, you're not exactly subtle ..." Jemma thought.

As the girl was actually starting to get more explicit, Jemma almost automatically covered her ears. She and Fitz had always shared everything but she really didn't want to know that much about her best friend, especially since she wasn't even supposed to know about the girlfriend anyway. That's when she heard voices coming from the other side of the hallway and they were definitely coming towards the kitchen. Bobbi and Hunter apparently. And they sounded a lot friendlier to each other these days, she would have to ask them about that. So after a few second's hesitation, she made the quick decision to walk away and back to her room. Those biscuits weren't worth the awkward looks she would probably get from the two women if she came in and interrupted their conversation, and she couldn't be seen eavesdropping on them, especially if Bobbi and Hunter overheard what they were talking about. She would never hear the end of it.

Once she made it back to her room, she quickly changed into her nightwear, a vest top and shorts, and settled into bed with her tea and a book she had been hoping to start reading for weeks. But after a few pages, she closed the book, sighing. She did her best but she couldn't concentrate on what she was reading. She definitely felt like she was back in high school, not able to think about anything else than a boy. Well except for the fact that she finished high school when she was fourteen and she was never really included in all the girl talks at the time. She actually only started dating when she joined the academy. Also the boy in question wasn't a boy, he was her best friend and if it was true that he did occupy a lot of her thoughts recently, she wasn't interested in him like that. And right now, she was mostly angry at him and as much as she wanted him out of her mind, it seemed like he would be there for a while.

Fitz and Jemma had shared everything that happened in their lives since they met at sixteen. She told him about her first kiss, she encouraged him to ask his first girlfriend out and they comforted each other when they had their first heartbreak. So why wouldn't he tell her about Gina? She hated that he didn't think she deserved to know that about his life, even if it didn't last long. She hated that she heard about it from someone else. Had they grown so far apart while they didn't work together? Things had been so well between them since he came back. She was afraid that they would be a little awkward but they fell back to their old habits quite easily and she thought that they could definitely leave all the tensions due to their separation behind them.

But now she was starting to question their relationship. What else didn't he tell her about their time apart?

Of course there was also another small voice in her head, one that sounded a lot like Skye, who kept telling her there was another, simpler reason to why she was so upset. One that also reminded her that Bobbi was right when she said that other women had an evident interest in him now and who kept asking if that fact was bothering her as well ...

-0-0-0-

"I'm telling you, she was really weird." Fitz said to no one in particular. They had all been waiting in the bus' lounge for a while now.

"Come on mate, she's not exactly warm and fuzzy most of the time anyway" Hunter answered and every one else was forced to nod in agreement.

"I know. Since I met her, I don't think I ever saw May smile even once but I talked to her and she didn't even answer. She looked at me like she didn't even know me. It's kind of cold. Even for her, right ?" Fitz asked and everyone else looked to be hesitating so Fitz raised his eyebrows. Could this really be considered a normal behavior? Even for the scary woman she obviously was.

"Well okay, might be a little weird but Coulson said to keep radio silence until they contact us for now so we'll just have to wait I guess" Skye said and after a few seconds, she added with a smirk: "But feel free to ask her about it when she comes back ..."

"No thanks, I've risked my life enough this year!" He said, his eyes wide and everyone chuckled.

Their mission was to get their hands on an old 16th century painting that presented patterns similar to what was carved on that strange obelisk. It wasn't very clear to Fitz or pretty much everyone else why it was so important but that obelisk was obviously powerful and dangerous since it was labelled an 084 and it wouldn't hurt to know more about its origin.

"I don't know I guess I'm just a little bored. If all missions on the field are like that, I don't know what I was worried about" He added, sighing.

Once the team managed to get the necessary items for Coulson and May to have access to the charity event where the painting was displayed, they mostly had to wait and stay on coms in case help was needed. Half an hour ago they came back to the bus and left again. Apparently general Talbot was willing to work with them and had agreed to meet them later this evening. So the team just had to wait ... again.

"Man don't say things like that, that's when the worst always happens ..." Trip said with a seriousness that made Fitz roll his eyes.

"Oh don't be ridiculous, it's not because I ..." He started.

Of course, that's the exact moment the lights went out and the plane's alarms chose to ring. The noise was ridiculously loud and with the emergency lights flashing all over the plane, it felt like it was chaos.

"Now look at what you've done!" Skye said half joking, half panicking.

"Oh come on ... what the hell ..." Fitz said standing up and running towards the main control panel. He tried to access the plane's systems but everything seemed frozen and they were all shutting down one after the other. It's only after a few minutes of him and Skye trying that he saw the unusual black device attached to the side of one of the computers. It would have been easy to miss it, the object being so small and the same colour as the computer.

"Wait what is that?" Fitz said as he got closer to it. "Okay, I think I know what's happening. It's spreading a virus!" He said a minute later with a little panic in his voice.

"Okay but what's the point of it?" Skye asked.

"It's making its way through the plane, crashing every system, trapping us inside until it gets to ..."

"... the wings" Mack finished for him.

"Where the fuel is stored ..." Fitz added.

"And once it gets there?" Hunter asked.

"Boom"

-0-0-0-

Fitz made his way to the avionic's bay as fast as he could. With the virus travelling through the electric system, some parts were overheating, creating small explosions along the way. Halfway through, he realized that Hunter was following him.

"Why are you following me?" He screamed to make himself heard over the loud noises from the alarm.

"I'm of no use on my own so ... when in doubt follow the boss!" He said as he ducked to avoid another small explosion near his head.

"I'm not the boss" Fitz answered with a raised eyebrow.

"In here you are"

"... makes sense ..." Fitz answered after thinking about it for a few seconds. "okay come with me then!" He added and they both started walking again. "I'm gonna need to turn off everything, rewire a few panels to bypass the infected systems and then reboot the whole thing ... hopefully the others will have started fixing the infected systems in the mean time" Fitz said once they finally made it to the avionic's bay. Fortunately, there were no explosions in here so it would be easier to concentrate.

"Okay, great! What do I do?"

"Unplug everything on this panel" He said as he proceeded to unplug a few other things as well. When they did the explosions finally stopped, the alarm stopped ringing and they both let out a big sigh.

"Is it fixed?" Hunter asked.

"No it's just turned off" Fitz answered as he started replugging wires and other objects on the panel wall. It didn't make any sense to Hunter but Fitz looked like he knew what he was doing, which was surprising since it was only the second time he was on that plane. But his reputation preceded him so he just went with it and waited for Fitz to ask him to do anything. "Okay lift this lever while I do the other" Fitz said as he pointed towards a big red lever at the bottom of the panel and bent over to grab another one.

The lights turned back on, there was no sound of an explosion or alarms ringing. After a minute or so, Fitz's face finally relaxed. "... and now it's fixed!" He said, turning to Hunter with a big smile on his face.

"Well done mate!" Hunter said lifting his hand for Fitz to high five it, which he did.

-0-0-0-

"Told you she was acting weird ..." Fitz said to Skye and Mack as the two of them were busy making a full diagnostic of the plane's systems to make sure it was safe to take off. "... and you've all known her longer than I have ... shame on you all!" He added with a grin.

As it turned out, there was a good reason May was acting so strange: it wasn't actually her. When her and Coulson were separated during the mission and she went to check if Talbot's proposal to work together seemed genuine, she realized that it's wasn't actually Talbot but an ex SHIELD agent turned Hydra. That same agent kidnapped her and took her place using the same kind of high tech mask that made her look like Talbot. And it's of course that agent who placed the device that was supposed to make the plan blow up. Fortunately, Coulson was able to differentiate that imposter from his long time friend Melinda May just as the team was fixing the plane before the virus managed to complete its mission.

"Oh please ... it's because you don't know her that you think the real May couldn't be that cold!" Skye said, chuckling.

"Oh come on she cannot be that bad. Maybe she just needs a hug!" He answered, his grin growing wider.

"Well you try and you'll tell me how it goes ..." Skye said with a grin as she was standing up. "I think I'm all good here. You?"

"Yeah ... yeah me too, I think we're good to go. Not too soon too, didn't think it would be so bloody exhausting spending the whole day waiting ..." He added as he stood up as well and stifled a big yawn.

"Maybe you're still a little too weak to work on the field ... I should probably tell Simmons to make you rest some more ..." Skye answered, pouting in a way she probably thought looked innocent.

"Do that and I'll tell her what you did with the gluten free biscuits she gave you ..." Fitz answered with a raised eyebrow.

"... well played!" She said after a few minutes of staring at him, trying to look intimidating. "I'll go tell Coulson and May we're ready to take off" She said as they both left the room. They had barely walked a few meters when they heard a very loud noise coming from the front of the plane that sounded a lot like an explosion.

"Oh come on ..." They both said in unison.

-0-0-0-

The journey back to the base wasn't long but it still felt like it was to Fitz. He felt a bit like a child wanting to tell his mom about his first day of school. It was his first mission ever on the field and he couldn't wait to tell Jemma. Things didn't go as planned but he actually did really good and he wanted to prove to her that even though he didn't choose it, he could be a field agent. When the Hydra agents sent after Coulson and May attacked the plane, Fitz surprised every one by joining the fight and actually doing pretty good, especially for an engineer that had never been out of his lab. His training wasn't completely useless after all.

When they landed, it was still quite early. The sun wasn't even up yet but Jemma was there when he got out of the elevator and he wondered if she had been waiting for him. He knew he probably would have if the roles had been reversed. When their eyes met, he saw her frown and wasn't sure if it was worry or annoyance or maybe something else.

"You're bleeding!" She said, her voice a little more high pitched than usual.

"What ..." He started but then he remembered the little blow to the head he took during the fight. He brought his hand to his forehead and realized that it was bleeding again.

"Oh that? It's nothing really, Trip stitched it up but the wound must have opened again" He said with a reassuring smile.

"It's not nothing mate. It's your battle scar" Hunter said before Jemma could answer. "You did really good for your first mission. Saving the bus and kicking a few bad guy's butts" He added with a grin, patting Fitz on the back.

"What? You fought? But you didn't even ..." Jemma started, surprise evident in her voice. Which was logical since last she knew he never passed his physical evaluation but it still somehow hit his male ego. But before he had the time to answer, Hunter cut him off again.

"Yeah he did. Even May said he was, and I quote, alright" He said grinning. From what everyone told Fitz, it was the higher form of praise he could get from her. "Come on let's go get a beer to celebrate"

"Bit early for alcohol maybe?" Fitz answered, raising an eyebrow.

"No we didn't get to sleep so it's not early yet, it's still really late." Hunter answered matter of factly but as Fitz was actually starting to consider this as a valid argument, Jemma spoke again.

"No no no, right now, you're coming with me, I'm going to stitch you up properly then you can do whatever the hell you want!" She said, her tone a bit harsh, surprising them both. The look on her face clearly meant that it wasn't a request but an order so Fitz could only agree to it.

"Hummm ... okay ... I guess I'll see you later Hunter" He said, a bit sheepishly, sharing a confused look with the other man as he moved to follow Jemma to the infirmary. Was she really mad at him for getting injured or was there something else?

When they got to the infirmary, she made him sit on one of the metal tables so they were about the same height, which made it easier for her to stitch him up. As she moved around the room to get everything she needed, she didn't say a word but he could see some kind of tension on her features. He was obviously the source of it and he didn't like that one bit, especially when he had no idea why. Fitz didn't have the easiest temper so it wasn't uncommon for him to argue with the people surrounding him. Most of the time, he didn't really care but it was different when it came to Jemma. The only time they ever had a real argument, not their usual bickering, a real argument with harsh words, raised voices and crying, was when Fitz decided not to join Coulson's team and it had felt awful.

"Okay, I'm gonna clean this and then I'll numb the area" She said in a very neutral tone as she used a little cotton ball to wipe the blood on his wound. As she proceeded to spray antiseptic on it and then reached to get a small needle to inject a little anesthetic in the wound, he tried not to wince. The last thing he needed was her seing him be afraid of a little needle when he planned to proudly tell her the tale of his first mission on the field.

"Hu ... Jemma?" He asked hesitantly.

"Yeah?" She answered, not looking at him, focused as she was on his wound.

"Are you ... mad at me for something?" He asked in the softest tone he could muster considering she was stitching him up at the same time. She paused for a moment before answering.

"No ... Why would I be mad at you?" She answered, her tone contradicting her words, her eyes briefly meeting his for a moment before refocusing on his wound.

"I don't know Jemma, you seem a little ... tense is all" He said, carefully choosing his words.

"I'm not, it's just ... well I am-you ... you shouldn't be bleeding so much Fitz, it's not safe for you" She said, her face softening a bit, showing more worry than anger now.

"I don't think it's safe for anyone Jemma" He said with a small grin to try and lighten the mood but he didn't get the reaction he expected from her.

"Oh Fitz you know perfectly well what I mean ... with your iron deficiency, you could pass out from such a blow to the head." She said, the anger and worry now replaced with annoyance.

"I know that Jemma ... missions on the field are dangerous and that's why I didn't want to go in the first place" He said, raising his voice a bit. Now he was the one getting a bit angry. Why was she so annoyed and negative when he was so anxious to tell her how well he managed on the field.

"You were supposed to deal with the technical part of the mission, there are specialists when it comes to the fighting part, you're not ..." She said raising her voice as well.

"Not what? Was I supposed to crawl in a corner and wait while everyone else was fighting? I know you think I'm not courageous enough to stand up to myself but I'm different now and ..."

"Fitz, that's not what I ...." She started but he cut her off again, unable to stop the words from coming out of his mouth.

"I didn't choose to go there and I didn't choose to get attacked but I did and I actually managed pretty well on my own so why are you giving me such a hard time? You're the one who wanted us to work on the field, what more do you want from me? You cannot expect me to be safe all the time while I'm out there ..." He said, almost shouting. For a moment, they looked at each other, Fitz looking almost as surprised as she was at his outburst. He thought the resentment he had felt about her leaving had completely disappeared since they were reunited, leaving only a little guilt. They had grown even closer recently but obviously, there was still some of it and he didn't even realize it until now.

"What ... it's just-why didn't you ..." She started but seemed to change her mind and after a few seconds she looked down then back up at him and her face had softened again and he immediately felt bad for shouting at her but before he had the time to do or say anything, she spoke again. "I'm sorry I was just really worried okay ... I-I never doubted you, I'm glad that you did well and I'm really glad that you decided to stay and work on the field but that doesn't mean I like seing you bleed like that, I just got you back, I don't want to lose you again ..."

"Oh Jemma ..." He said, cutting her off and taking her hand in his. They looked at each other, sharing the same soft and slightly awkward smile. They still didn't feel completely comfortable expressing their feelings for each other. And there would have to be more talking because there was still some resentment on his part and she was obviously holding something back. But now was not the time. He was exhausted and maybe, maybe he was a little weaker than he should due to his iron deficiency but he wasn't going to tell her that because he didn't feel like spending another week in bed.

After a moment, she focused on his wound again to finish stitching him up. The tension from earlier was gone but there was still some kind of awkwardness between them and he felt like he had to fill the silence. "Do you think I'll get a scar?" He said, his tone light and this time she smiled a bit.

"Maybe ... I'll have to speak to Trip about how you make a proper stitch ... serves you right too ..." She said, her tone a little playful.

"Pity ... my face has always been my only asset" He said, sighing exaggeratedly and she chuckled.

"It's not ..." She said with a small grin after looking at him for a moment with an expression in her eyes he couldn't quite decipher. "... and girls like a scar anyway ... can be kind of ...sexy" She said, grinning a little wider and turned around to grab some scissors before he had the time to say anything back. Was she ... flirting? And why did it make his heart beat a little faster?

"So how did you manage during this fight? I don't mean to offend you really but you barely went to a single self defense or combat class back at the academy ..." She said, her tone careful, visibly a little scared of making him angry again.

"Well I would be offended ... if you weren't right" He said, grinning slightly. "But while you were gone I had some kind of ... unofficial training" He said and she raised her eyebrows questioningly, looking directly into his eyes. She was done stitching him up now but Fitz couldn't help noticing that she remained very close to him, closer than what was necessary for a simple conversation. She didn't seem to notice it herself and he was still trying to decide if he liked it or if it made him uncomfortable, especially after the possibly flirtatious sentences from just a minute ago.

"You remember how I met Bobbi right?"

"Yeah yeah ..." She said and he swore he could see a flicker of something in her eyes but it was gone too quickly for him to know what it actually was.

"Well, that time we spent almost an hour on this bloody freezing rooftop, hiding from Martins so we got to talking to pass the time. Bobbi told me about her injury and I told her about that cast we designed together and that could help her heal a lot faster." He said and she smiled at the memory of when they worked on it together. "It was still waiting to be validated at the time but apparently she knew about out reputation and she was willing to try it" He added with a soft smile she was quick to reciprocate. Just like her, he was proud of having such a reputation but he was even prouder to have one as a duo with her. "So anyway I got her the cast and she did heal a lot faster so she said she owed me one"

"Oh ..." She said with a small smile, visibly starting to see where this was going.

"So when we crossed paths at the gym a few weeks later and she saw that I was completely clueless ..." He said rolling his eyes and they both chuckled. "... she offered to train me. Said it would help her get back in shape as well but really I think she was doing me a favor ... I'm not the ... easiest student to work with" He added and Jemma grinned.

"But why did you want to train anyway?" She asked a little confused and he hesitated for a moment, blushing slightly.

"To join you on the field ..." He said and her eyes widened.

"But you didn't ..." She started but he cut her off.

"Like I said, it didn't take long to realize it didn't make any sense to work without you ... and I meant it. I didn't want to go to the field but it was only way I could work with you again." He said and she blushed at the intensity with which he looked at her at this moment.

"But why didn't you ..."

"... tell you about it? I would have been ridiculous changing my mind like that after only a few weeks ... so I wanted to pass my physical test so I'd have a valid reason to ask to be transferred to a field team ..." He said and if it was possible, her eyes got even wider.

"And did you? Pass the test I mean?" She asked with a soft voice.

"Yeah ... a few weeks before the whole Hydra thing. And I filled the form to ask for a transfer to the field too, doesn't matter anymore now ..." He said self depreciatively and started blushing at the tenderness he could see in her eyes.

"Wow that's ... Fitz, that's so ..."

"Of course I know I wouldn't have been transferred to Coulson's team ..."

".. amazing ..."

"... missed my chance but ..."

... can't believe you went to all this trouble ..."

"... maybe on another team and I hope that you could ..."

"... and you hate sports ..."

"... more important than anything ..."

"Oh Fitz ... why do you have to be so bloody adorable?" She finally said and before he had the time to ask if it was such a bad thing, considering the slight annoyance in her voice when she said it, she cut him off by throwing her arms around his shoulders and hugging him as tight as she could. Of course whatever was the reason for this hug, he was quick to reciprocate it. This definitely felt much better than the shouting and angry looks from just a few minutes ago. It's only after a minute of basking in her warmth and the delicious smell of her hair that he realized how intimate this was, especially from the eyes of someone who would enter the infirmary now. He was still sitting on the examination table so she was standing between his legs, which gave them the opportunity to hug as tight as it was humanly possible without actually fusing their bodies together. He would have been perfectly fine, his arms around her like that for the rest of the day, which was confusing and probably the reason he felt like he had to break the silence.

"You know, we shouldn't stay like that for so long ... if Skye walks in, she won't stop going on about it ..." He said and they both chuckled but neither of them let go.

"I know ... but I don't care, I still have eight months of you to catch up on so you should expect a lot more of that" She said, hugging him even tighter to prove her point, which made him smile widely.

"Same here ..." He said, laying a small kiss on the top of her head to prove his point. The small contented sigh she let out at this moment sent a delicious shiver down his spine but he tried his best to ignore it. "We didn't do that before ..." He added after a few minutes and it was true. They probably shared more hugs and physical displays of affection since they were reunited than in all their previous years of friendship.

"That's true ..." She said and he could feel her smile into the crook of his neck where her head was nestled. "... it's definitely an improvement though ..." She added, her voice barely a whisper like she was afraid of acknowledging this troubling fact too loud.

"Yeah ..." He said simply. "... whatever that means ..." he added to himself, enjoying the warmth of her body pressed against his until they would both have to go to work and act professionally.


	8. Chapter eight

Jemma had been pacing in the hallway in front of Fitz's room for the last fifteen minutes. She'd been wanting to talk to him for a few days now but there was never a good time. They were always so busy during the day and anyway, after what she heard those girls say about them, she didn't feel like having any kind of personal conversation in the lab.

Since Fitz's first mission on the field and their little spat, things have been strangely tense between them. Obviously, there was still some things left unsaid about their time apart and since Jemma decided to limit physical contacts between them in public, Fitz seemed a little confused. Whatever they were to each other, it was their concern and theirs only and she just wanted to avoid provoking more gossip. But to Fitz who didn't hear the same conversation she did, she must have come across as strangely cold, especially after telling him how much she liked how they were hugging more often now.

Also, she didn't anticipate how much it would frustrate her not being allowed to be as affectionate as she's been since he came back in her life. The tension between them was clearly not all negative. She found herself watching him more and more when he was focused on something and didn't see her. She had already noticed his physical changes but now they were starting to have an effect on her and she was pretty sure she caught him looking at her the same way a few times as well.

All these things combined made her think that maybe a real uninterrupted conversation was in order. But it was a little late and she couldn't hear a sound coming from his room. And if he was asleep, she didn't want to wake him up. At first, she assumed that his even paler than usual skin and the dark circles under his eyes were due to his iron and vitamin deficiency. But when his last test results came back perfect, she suspected that he had trouble sleeping. Also sometimes, he would drift of during work or even while she was speaking and she wanted to remind him that he could confide in her about anything.

As she was hesitating between knocking on his door anyway or waiting for a better opportunity to talk, she heard a noise coming from his room. At first she thought it was the TV but then she recognized his voice. He was moaning and for a moment she blushed furiously at the idea that maybe, he wasn't alone but then the moan turned to a scream and it definitely sounded like he was in pain.

Without a second of hesitation, she opened the door, which fortunately wasn't locked, and walked in. He had fallen asleep with the lights on and was apparently having a really bad nightmare. His usually soft features were all contorted in pain, his jaw clenched and his brows deeply furrowed. From the way he was all tangled in his sheets, it had been going on for a moment already, so when he screamed again, she sat on the side of his bed and tried to wake him up as gently as she could. She called his name softly and squeezed his shoulder until he suddenly woke up, sitting up automatically.

"Jemma?" He asked, still half asleep, his features still very tense and visibly confused.

"You were screaming in your sleep. I was coming to see you and I thought it'd be better to wake you up. Is that alright?" She said with a soft smile.

"Oh ..." He answered, his eyes a little more focused now. "... yeah ... thank you ... nightmare ... I'm sorry if I scared you" He said as he sat up a little straighter.

"Oh don't worry about me... you've been having a lot of those recently, right? Nightmares I mean ..." She said trying to catch his eyes as he was obviously trying to avoid hers.

"Yeah ..."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No it's nothing, don't worry ..." He said, his voice and the way he took his head in his hands to hide his face from her, contradicting his words.

"Fitz ..." She started softly, reaching for one of his hands. "You know you can trust me with anything, right?" She finished and when he let her take his hand but didn't look up into her eyes, it broke her heart a bit to see that he felt like he had to put on a brave face just for her.

"Really it's fine, just a few bad memories that won't leave my head, I'll just ..." He started but then his voice kind of broke and she heard him take a big breath of air.

"Fitz, please ..." She said, this time reaching for his face, forcing him to look at her. He tried his best to give her a weak little smile but it didn't reach his eyes. His eyes were red and he looked so exhausted. His nightmare had obviously really disturbed him and she couldn't bear seing him like that. She pulled him towards her, taking him in her arms. He didn't resist. He hugged her back tightly and rested his head on her shoulder. For a moment, they just stayed like that and she could feel how tense he still was and how fast he was breathing. But after a moment, as she was drawing soothing circles with her hands on his back, he finally relaxed in her arms. She heard him let out a sigh of relief, like he just realized he was safe in her arms. It's only when she felt him start to breathe deeper that she understood he was actually falling asleep in her arms.

They obviously had things to talk about and issues to resolve, and for some reason he had decided not to talk to her about the woman he dated for a time or his nightmares. But falling asleep in her arms somehow implied a deeper level of trust you couldn't fake or control and she felt incredibly moved by it.

At some point she started feeling guilty though. Her best friend was so troubled and exhausted that he had fallen asleep in her arms as they were hugging but after a time,  
the only thing she could focus on was the warmth of his bare chest radiating even through her clothes. Fitz was always hot so it didn't surprise her that he slept like that but he had been in her arms, his surprisingly soft and sweet smelling skin against hers, for the past ten minutes and her mind was roaming to strange new territories. She thought she'd seen that Bobbi's training had paid off before but now that he wasn't wearing a shirt, she had a confirmation. He still wasn't big but his shoulders and chest were a bit broader and he felt overall firmer than he used to be.

Her best friend had become incredibly attractive and there was no denying it anymore.

After a time though, she started to feel a bit uncomfortable, her body a little twisted to the side to hug him. It was a bit like having a cat asleep on your lap, even if it was uncomfortable, it was so sweet that you didn't feel like moving him. Fortunately he wasn't in a deep sleep and the small movements she made to try and be more comfortable were enough for him to wake up on his own and he gently moved away from her.

"Oh god I'm sorry, I think I dozed off ..." He said, looking a little sheepish as he tried to rub the sleep out of his eyes. And now he's just adorable, she thought.

"It's alright Fitz" She answered with a soft voice.

"I'm just so exhausted ..." He added.

All these weeks, she'd been so focused on looking after his physical health that she had failed to notice how much what he'd been through had taken a toll on him, mentally. He looked just so happy to be working with her again and so at ease with the team that she never imagined he could have been plagued with such bad nightmares all this time. At worst, she thought he had trouble finding sleep but it seemed to go deeper than that. She wanted to talk to him about all this and more but maybe now wasn't the time after all. He needed sleep more than anything now.

"I'm going to let you sleep now, you really need it ..." She said as she started to stand up.

"No no it's alright what did you want to ..."

"No really Fitz, it can wait until tomorrow or ..."

"No Jemma please ..." He said, grabbing her arm to stop her from leaving and the pleading tone in his voice made her turn around. "... stay?" He added and her heart melted a bit at the look he gave her. "... I mean I won't get any proper sleep anyway, we might as well talk now." He finished with a tentative smile.

"Of course" She said with the softest of smiles. How could she ever say no when he looked so vulnerable.

-0-0-0-

Fifteen minutes later, they were both sitting against the pillows on Fitz's bed. He had put a t-shirt back on, a fact she didn't know if she was glad about or not, and they were talking, really talking this time.

"I didn't even really like the guy you know, couldn't even remember his name most of the time... and it's just something I thought but it keeps coming back ..." He said, his voice low like he didn't want to hear those things out loud.

"Fitz you cannot blame yourself for this, I know you did the best you could in those circumstances. Everyone says you were a hero and I believe it." She answered and he blushed a bit at the last part.

"I know that, logically I know that, but one minute I'm wondering how I could get rid of him and the next it's chaos, Hydra attacks and he's shot dead in front of my eyes ..." He started but his voice broke in the middle of his sentence. She refrained from turning to hug him. He seemed to have less trouble speaking about this when she wasn't looking into his eyes so instead she just nudged his shoulder with hers gently and waited for him to continue.

"... it just keeps turning in my head. Sometimes it happens just like it really did, sometimes differently, sometimes it gets all mixed up with ... you... I think those are the worst" He added, his voice barely a whisper by the end of his sentence.

"Oh ..." And this time, she couldn't resist turning to him and he did the same, smiling weakly.

"I've been really ... mad at you at some point, for leaving ... didn't last long because then I've just missed you and was mostly angry at myself for not following you. But still ... until I knew you were alive and safe, I kept thinking that there were things I never got to tell you and I guess ... it messed with my mind more than I thought ..." He said in a self-deprecative tone and she almost automatically reached for his hand to give him a gentle squeeze. She wanted to ask if there were still things he didn't tell her but he was already opening up, she wasn't going to press him.

"I'm sorry Fitz, I should have known that you didn't feel as good as you looked to be ... You've gotten better at putting on a brave face but you don't need to, not with me. But it's good that we're talking now, we should never be afraid of telling each other anything ..."

"Yeah ..." He said, a small but sincere smile making its way across his face.

"To be honest, I've been mad at you at some point as well ... when I first came to the bus and it was hard to get used to it, I've blamed you because I knew it would have been much easier if you were with me, of course it was terribly selfish but ..." She said and to her surprise, he chuckled. She looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Even when we're mad at each other and probably thousands of miles apart, we manage to think the same way" He said, his smile growing a little bigger and this time she chuckled as well.

"Yeah I guess, we always will ..." She said and they smiled softly at each other.

"So in the spirit of telling each other everything, I felt like you were a little, I don't know, colder, those last few days ... Did I do something to bother you maybe?" He said, blushing slightly. By colder, he obviously meant that they didn't hug or had physical contact as much recently and she smiled internally at the fact that he was probably missing it as much as she did. She was also glad that he was the one to bring up the subject because, even though it was part of what she wanted to talk about, she didn't really know how to start this conversation.

"No of course no. You can see that I have no problem hugging you when it's just the two of us" She started with a small grin and he blushed even redder. "It's just I've heard there were rumors about us, and I don't care really, but our relationship is our concern and noone else's" She finished.

"Oh ..." He said and she knew she didn't need to say more about the rumors because there's always been these kinds of rumors about them since they got paired up during their first year at the academy. Apparently a man and a woman couldn't be best friends for so long without people around suggesting that they might be more than that. "... alright then, I get it" He added. "And should we ..." He started again but stopped, looking hesitant.

"what Fitz?" She said gently. If there was something he wanted to say, he should say it. Even if it was delicate, she wanted to hear it, she didn't want any secrets between them anymore.

"Should we ... should we talk about the fact that we do hug a lot more often and that we're ... I don't know ... hum ... closer than before?" He said, putting a particular inflexion on the word "closer" and her breath hitched. She was the one who came to talk but it still took her unaware.

Was there really something to talk about? Their relationship was obviously a bit different but all friendships change over the years and if anything, she was glad that they only ever got closer and closer since they knew each other. But when she looked up into his eyes, he took her breath away. He was looking at her with such vulnerability and tenderness and ... was it hope? No one's ever looked at her like that and he didn't look at anyone else that way ... maybe Skye wasn't completely wrong after all. So of course there was something to talk about but what?

"I guess we should but ... I just know that I like that we're ... closer and I think there's something new and sometimes it gets a little ... confusing and I don't know ..." She started, feeling suddenly breathless as they were approaching such dangerous and new territory.

"I know ... I-I feel the same ..." He said and they smiled timidly at each other.

The fact that they were both sitting on Fitz's bed, late at night probably didn't help them think properly. Whatever was happening between them, Jemma thought it was just as scary as it was exciting but too soon and still way too confusing to qualify it just yet.

"Maybe we could agree on the fact that we're best friends whose relationship is evolving and ... maybe we could let it evolve naturally and see what it will become" She suggested, daring to look into his eyes again and she could almost swear she saw a bit of disappointment before it was replaced with relief.

"Yeah ... that sounds yeah ... that sounds good, I can do that" He said, looking at her with a tentative smile. It was nice to know he was just as confused as she was, somehow it made things a little less scary and a little bit more exciting. "Whatever it becomes, it'll always be beautiful though" He added and her heart melted once more. It was such a ... romantic thing to say.

"Yes, it will" She said, smiling back softly and without giving it too much thought, took his hand in hers. After a second's hesitation, he intertwined his fingers with hers and it felt perfectly and deliciously confusing.

-0-0-0-

"So really, what is it with her? Did you actually ever see her smile?" Fitz asked with a smirk.

"You're one to talk grumpy!" She answered, playfully poking his shoulder with her finger.

"Hey!" He said, looking offended but couldn't keep a straight face for long.

After a few minutes filled with shy smiles and awkward looks, they had started talking again. Fitz obviously didn't feel like going back to sleep immediately and it was so long since they had a night of chatting about everything and nothing like they used to do at the academy that she didn't feel like going to bed either. She didn't care if she'd end up being exhausted the next day, they were having a good time together and she was ready to do anything to rid him of his nightmares.

"Have you ever heard about the cavalry?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah of course, what's that got to do with ..." He started until realization dawned on his face. "Oh ..."

"Yep!" She said with a grin.

"And do you know where she got that nickname from?"

"No ... Skye asked Coulson once. He just told her she used to smile a lot before a certain event and that we should, under no circumstance, call her that ..." She said, her face getting more serious and Fitz's eyes widened in surprise.

"Wow ..." He said after a time. "And I thought Bobbi was scary sometimes ..." He added with a smirk and she chuckled.

"Ah ah yeah ..." she answered but after a time a mischievous smile slowly made its way across her face. "Is that why you let her play Pretty Woman with you?" She asked.

"What-wh-what are you talking about?" He asked, blushing a deep shade of red. He had gotten better at hiding things from her but he was still just as bad as before when confronted about something unprepared.

"She told me about it Fitz ... and when I think you never wanted to go shopping with me ..." She said, shaking her head in fake disappointment but still not able to completely take the grin off her face.

"I never agreed to go shopping, she told me we were going out to lunch ..." He started, trying to justify himself, not seeing she was just teasing him.

"No no it's fine really, you just like shopping with her better ..."

"I swear, there's nothing I liked about that day ..." He started but then saw the smirk on her face and rolled his eyes. "You're teasing right?" He said, turning slightly to face her.

"No ... I'm really disappointed in you Fitz ..." She said grinning. "She has good taste though ..." She added, her grin turning a little ... flirty.

"Oh yeah?" He asked, trying to sound casual but for the slight blush on his cheeks.

"Yeah ... fits you well ... and with the stubble, you almost look your age ..." She answered and he bumped her shoulder hard, almost making her lose balance. She was testing the waters by flirting but she couldn't keep herself from teasing him. They'd been doing that for years and it wasn't going to change anytime soon.

"Well, she didn't really give me a choice but she had good intentions ... and no one asked for my ID at the bar since then so ..." He said and they both chuckled.

"She is a good person ..." She said with a soft smile. "... and I'm glad you made friends with her too, you're always so grumpy when it comes to meeting new people ..." She added, gently teasing.

"Well I found perfection when I was sixteen, why would I go looking for other friends?" He said with a soft smile and once again, her heart fluttered. He probably didn't even realize how adorable he could be sometimes. Which, of course, made him even more adorable. She couldn't find a thing to say to match him in sweetness so she put her head on his shoulder, taking his hand again and smiled at the way he put his own head against hers.

At some point during the night, their conversation became a little slower, words becoming harder and harder to get out of their mouths as they were getting more and more exhausted. Somehow, they slowly started to slide down until they were both lying down on Fitz's bed.

That night, she slept next to Fitz on his bed. He didn't ask her to stay and she didn't ask him if he wanted her to. it just happened naturally. They just stayed next to each other, their hands and legs only slightly brushing each other's during the night but it seemed like it was enough comfort for Fitz not to have another nightmare.

The next morning, they woke up at the same time and shared a sweet sleepy smile before Jemma got up. She checked the hallway to make sure no one would see her leave Fitz's room in the morning then she went to her room to take a shower and get ready for the day.

Later that day, when she looked up from her microscope and caught Fitz looking at her in that special way, he didn't look away. Instead he gave her the cockiest grin she's ever seen on his face and her heart skipped a beat. And now he was getting confident ...


	9. Chapter nine

"No really Hunter except for the annoying habit of reading into people's mind, I think she's quite lovely actually" Jemma said as they were turning around a corner and into another hallway.

"Lovely? Please don't be so ... British!" He said with a big sigh.

"What? I don't even know what that's supposed to mean!" She said, rolling her eyes.

"I mean, she can be a lot of things but Bobbi's not ... lovely" He said in a very bad imitation of Jemma's voice.

"Well I don't know about Bobbi but right now, you're being quite annoying Hunter" She said scanning the hallway for a sign of Fitz's presence.

"That's it, she managed to get into your head and make you think I'm the bad one ..." He answered, trying to keep up with her fast pace.

"She didn't make me think anything, actually she doesn't even talk about you at all ... and you two certainly seemed quite friendly the other day. Did she get into your head as well?" She said with a side grin.

"Well that's a different ... that's not ... so where's Fitz?" He said and she chuckled at his very badly conceiled attempt at changing subject.

"Well if I knew, I wouldn't be looking for him, would I?" She said, rolling her eyes again. Deep down she knew Hunter actually was a really good person but sometimes he could be such a pain in the ass.

"Maybe he doesn't want to be found, you should give the man some space!" He said and she stopped in her tracks for a moment.

"Well I'm looking for him because we were supposed to work on something together and anyway, if you thought we shouldn't look for him, why did you tag along?" She said and he looked a little sheepish. That's a look she didn't often see on his face ... except when he was with Bobbi. Maybe she did have an influence on her after all.

"I guess I ... didn't have anything better to do ..." He said and she couldn't help grinning a bit at that.

"That's what I thought ..." She said. "So he's left his lanyard in the lab but he's not there, he's not in his room either ... or in the kitchen ... do you think he could have ..." She started but she was interrupted by the sound a very loud angry voice with a very distinctive Scottish accent.

"Speak of the devil ..." Hunter said and they both made their way towards said voice. They found him just in front of the elevator leading outside and literally screaming at Agent Koenig.

"What does it matter? I'm not taking anything with me and I'm not trying to get in with a bloody bomb or anything so just LET. ME. OUT" He said, his accent getting thicker by the second. If he kept going like this, even she would have trouble understanding him soon.

"Hey hey. What's going on here?" She said, getting closer to him. When he turned around and saw her, his features softened a bit for a moment but she could see how troubled he looked.

"I just need to get out-I need some fresh air ... There's not a single bloody window I can open on that base, I'm suffocating in here and that bloody idiot JUST WON'T LET ME OUT!" He said, turning towards agent Koenig who just made a disapproving wince.

"Well that's the thing with secret underground bases mate ... not many windows" Hunter said to try and lighten the mood but it didn't seem to work on Fitz who still looked just as tense.

"I have no problem with letting people out, I just need to see his lanyard for that. No one gets in or out without a lanyard and he doesn't have one. If he keeps insisting I'm going to have to report to Director Coulson" Koenig said, keeping his tone relatively neutral considering he'd just been called an idiot.

"Yes please do that, at least if he fires me, I will finally get out of here and get some fresh air ..." Fitz started but Jemma interrupted him.

"Everybody please calm down, there'll be no need for that. Fitz, I have your lanyard, you left it in the lab" She started with a soft tone, hoping it would help calm him down. "See, he has his lanyard, you can let him go now" She added, turning to Agent Koenig.

"Well, it's still a strange behavior, maybe I should talk about it to director Coulson before letting him out" He answered.

"Please, he just needs some fresh air ... who doesn't get a little claustrophobic on this base from time to time?" She said and he looked to be hesitating. "Please agent Koenig, you know me well, you trust me, right? I can vouch for him if necessary" She added with a reassuring smile and after a moment's hesitation, he finally nodded and let them through.

"Come on Fitz, let's get some fresh air ... we could all use a break" She said, gently pulling him towards the elevator as Hunter followed close behind. He still looked pretty angry so it was probably safer to keep him away from Koenig as fast as possible. Even before he had a little combat training, Fitz always had a quick temper when provoked. Sometimes you just couldn't escape the clichés of your origins.

"Bloody robot ..." He said under his breath but Jemma still heard him.

"Oh not you too ..."

"It's a valid theory ..."

-0-0-0-

"Feeling better?" She asked in a soft voice once they were out of the elevator and into the small side alley where the main entrance was.

"Yeah ..." He said, taking big gulps of air to try and slow down his heart rate.

"We were supposed to work on ..."

"I know I know Jemma, I'm sorry ..." He cut her off, his voice a little harsher than he meant it to be and immediately felt guilty. She was just obviously worried about him. " ...I'm sorry" He said again, his voice a little softer now. "like you said, sometimes I just get a little claustrophobic in here ..." He added and she smiled sympathetically, encouraging him to keep talking. "Sometimes I think back about those weeks in Sci-Ops and I just need to see the outside ... and sometimes it's not enough and I need to be outside, which is usually no problem unless there's a frigging robot trying to stop me!" He finished and she couldn't help smiling a bit at his last words.

"Agent Koenig is really nice actually, he's just ... a bit obsessed with rules is all" She said and he chuckled.

"This coming from you ..." He said and she bumped his shoulder hard when both him and Hunter laughed even louder.

"Hey ..." He started but stopped what he was about to say when he saw her look of mock offense. "Sorry, sorry, you're not obsessed with rules, you just ... like them a lot ... and thanks for keeping track of my blessed lanyard by the way" He said, grinning.

"Yeah, yeah ..." She said and they remained silent for a moment.

"So ... are we gonna stay in that crappy alley like a bunch of losers or are we going to go home to get a beer or two?" Hunter asked.

"Home sounds nice ... it's kind of late anyway, we could take the night off" Jemma said, surprising Fitz. She was never the one offering to take a break from work so he thought he should take this opportunity while he could.

"Yeah why not ..." He said. "... but I'd just like to stay here a few more minutes before going back down" He added and both Hunter and Jemma chuckled.

"When I said home, I didn't mean the base mate ..." Hunter said with a knowing smile.

"Come on Fitz, you'll like it there" Jemma said, taking his arm to lead him away from the door and around the corner of the street. He didn't understand what they meant but Jemma seemed enthusiastic so it was probably okay to follow them. After walking for a minute or two, Jemma talked again. "You don't really want to get fired and leave the base, do you?" She asked casually but he could sense there was a little worry in her voice.

"No Jemma, of course no! I didn't mean that, I was just really tense ... You know I love working here ... with you" He said in a soft voice as he gently bumped her shoulder.

"Yeah?" She said, smiling tentatively.

"Yeah ..." He answered with a big tender smile as he put his arm around her shoulder to keep walking and she didn't seem to mind at all. On the contrary, she even leaned into him a bit more so they were more comfortable.

"Get a room ..." Hunter said under his breath after watching them for a minute and even though they both acted like they didn't hear it, Fitz could see Jemma's cheeks getting a little pink.

-0-0-0-

"Oh this is ridiculous Fitz, just because he's a little uptight when it comes to security doesn't mean he's a robot, it's his job after all!" Jemma said, rolling her eyes.

"But it's not just that. You know I think I've never seen him eat and there's all the brothers of course." Fitz answered grinning.

"Of course he eats ... have you seen him?" Jemma answered, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah I have ... but the point is have you seen him eat?" He answered back and when she hesitated, he took it as a proof of his point. "Ah see? If he looks like this but doesn't eat maybe that's because he's been created that way!" Fitz said with a triumphant grin.

"Oh Fitz ..." She started but she was interrupted by Hunter coming back with three new beers. "Home" was in fact the name of the British pub Jemma and Hunter had found just after they settled at the Playground. It was owned by two English brothers and most of the staff was either English, Irish or Scottish. The beer and food were good, it was cosy and simple with a soft lighting, the music was nice so overall it really did have a feeling of home. Jemma was right, it was just what Fitz needed. For the first time since he'd been rescued from Sci-Ops, he felt completely relaxed. He hadn't even realized it but he was always either outside on a mission or at the base. And even if he did have plenty of free time, especially at the beginning, always being on base made it hard to completely release all tensions because there was always the risk of being attacked or being needed for an emergency in the middle of the night.

As Hunter sat opposite them on their booth, he pushed two pints of beer towards them and lifted his own.

"Cheers" He said before taking a few gulps.

Cheers" Jemma and Fitz answered in unison and started drinking as well.

"So Hunter ..." Jemma started with a small grin as she put down her glass. "Will you please tell Fitz that agent Koenig is not a robot" She added and he chuckled.

"Of course he's not a robot ..." He said and Jemma turned to Fitz with a triumphant grin before he continued. "... he's an android! Robots don't look so human, you should know about that Simmons, you're the scientist!" He added and Fitz almost chocked on his beer, laughing when he saw Jemma's face fall so comically at Hunter's words.

"Oh come on ... So Trip managed to contaminate all of you guys?" She asked, sitting back in the booth, feeling a little defeated.

"No but think about it, at least three brothers who look exactly the same and who all end up working the exact same job within SHIELD. Does that sound believable to you?" Hunter asked and Fitz nodded enthusiastically.

"More than robots ..." She answered and cut them off before they could correct her. "Well identical triplets are quite rare but it's possible and it is a known fact that identical twins, or triplets in this case, have the same interests so it's not crazy to imagine that they would all want to work in the same field. And since their brains work the same, it's not ..." Her speech felt a little automatic, having been repeated to Trip and Fitz several times already but she was cut off before she could finish it.

"Did someone say my name?" The voice of Antoine Triplett came from behind them and Hunter immediately waved at him to get him come and seat with them. Skye was with him as well and Jemma gave Hunter a surprised look.

"Did you invite them? I thought you said it was our secret British lair?" She said, with a small grin.

"Yeah yeah but I didn't feel like being the third wheel all night so ..." He said grinning and she blushed a bit.

"What? That's ridicu ..."

"Yeah sure whatever!" He cut her off and she looked at Fitz with an awkward little smile he was quick to reciprocate. They didn't talk about their relationship since that conversation they had a few weeks ago but they did do like they decided. They let their relationship evolve naturally and even though nothing concrete really changed since then, now that their confusing feelings were out in the open, it all felt a little different. They had more and more trouble hiding their growing affection for each other but there was also an obvious physical attraction now, which seemed to make them gravitate towards each other almost unconsciously every time they were in the same room. And as good as they thought they were hiding it, they didn't fool anyone. They were openly flirting and every time it happened, it made Fitz's heart beat a little faster. It was a delicious sensation and he didn't want it to stop but he wondered where it would stop or if it would lead them somewhere else in the end.

"Come on guys, scoot, give me some room" Skye said, interrupting him in his musings. He blushed when he realized that Skye had been waiting for them to move to give her some space for at least twenty seconds and they had been too busy smiling at each other to notice.

"Sorry, sorry" He said, moving to rest his back against the wall as Jemma moved closer to him to leave room for Skye. He couldn't help noticing that she seemed to get much closer to him than it was necessary and since he had his arm over the backrest, she ended up having his arm almost around her shoulder once more. And of course they were both too busy acting casual about it to notice the smirk Skye and Hunter exchanged.

-0-0-0-

Ten minutes later, Skye and Trip came back to the table with beers for everyone. For once, he had agreed to forget his very strict healthy diet to enjoy a night of bonding with his teammates, so of course Skye took this rare occasion to make him buy his round.

"So Fitz" Skye started with a big smile as she put his beer in front of him. "Are we going to see if you really are such a legend tonight?" She finished and he looked at her with a look of total confusion before a grin managed to make its way on his face.

"Well sure but you're going to have to be more specific, I'm a legend in so many domains ..." He said and as both Jemma and Skye rolled their eyes, Hunter and Trip gave an approving chuckle. Fitz had never spent much time in the company of other men. He didn't really have any other real friend before he met Jemma, and since he met her he never felt like he had to. This new group of people was different though, they seemed to genuinely appreciate him for what he was, with all his quirks and his flaws. But he had to admit that being around other and mostly older and more confident men made him act a lot cockier than he really felt. It might have had something to do with the shift in his relationship with Jemma as well but he wasn't sure if she really liked it considering the looks she gave him every time he acted that way.

"I was talking about that legendary alcohol intake of yours! Jemma told us it's even bigger than hers" Skye said and Fitz almost chocked on his beer at her words, to the point where Jemma had to give him a tap on the back but couldn't help laughing at his comically exaggerated reaction.

"Are you serious?" He said when he finally managed to catch his breath and Skye nodded, a little confused. "Jemma's a bloody light weight !" He said grinning widely.

"Told you he'd say that!" Jemma said with a sigh to a wide eyed Skye.

"I mean do you know how many times I've had to carry her back to her room back at the academy?" He said and Jemma gave him a nudge on the shoulder.

"Fiiitz!" She said, a little outraged. "I may have had to lean on you slightly a few times but you only carried me once and you were the one who insisted on it because it was snowing and I had very high heels and you were afraid I would break my ankles ..." She said and he grinned even wider.

"... and because you were so sloshed you looked like a drunk new born girafe!" He said and everyone at the table burst out laughing, which made her look even more outraged.

"But you said I looked just barely tipsy ..." She started but when she saw the fondness hiding behind his amusement, she hesitated for a moment.

"And the fact that you believed me proves my point ... Jemma, you were sad and you had just been through a bad breakup so I just went with it, didn't matter as long as you got home safe " He said with a warm smile she was quick to reciprocate. Fortunately, it seemed that the others were still too busy laughing their ass off to notice what passed between them for a second. "I mean you didn't even remember where your room was!" He added with a grin and this time, there was also a bit of fondness when she rolled her eyes.

"Fine fine ... you might have a slightly better alcohol intake than I have ... but it's only because you're taller and heavier than me ... and Scottish" She said and he grinned as he gently squeezed her shoulder. And even though, she rolled her eyes once more, he couldn't help noticing how she somehow leaned into him a bit more. Wether Jemma remembered it or not, he was careful enough not to mention that she actually never found the key to her room and ended up sleeping on his bed. They woke up in each other's arms feeling a little awkward and never talked about it ever since. He was pretty sure they had just slept that night but with their relationship being so blurry right now they didn't need to bring up another confusing memory in front of everyone.

"Oh my god! I'm loving this!" Skye said with a delighted giggle. "Jemma actually getting into some bad girls shenanigans ... Fitz, please drink some more so you can tell us more stories like this one!" She said and Fitz shook his head with an amused smirk.

"Oh Skye ... you'll be passed out drunk long before I'm drunk enough to tell you stories I wouldn't tell you when I'm sober" He said and Trip let out a wolf whistle.

"Girl ... that sounds like a challenge to me!" He said with a big smile on his face.

-0-0-0-

An hour and several rounds of shots later, Fitz's legend was starting to prove true as even Jemma and Hunter were starting to feel the effects of the alcohol and he remained visibly unfazed. But one thing was sure, Skye would clearly be fast asleep before he was even slightly drunk enough for it to show.

"And how we do-do we know you're not so-sob ... not drunk but just really reallyyyyyy good at hiding it?"

"Well first of all, I can say complete sentences without sounding like my drunk uncle Hamish!" He said and she burst out laughing at his last word, which made him roll his eyes in amusement. "And second of all, I don't laugh like an eight years old at the mention of a slightly funny name!" He added.

"For her defense, she also does it when she's sober!" Trip said and she laughed even louder.

"No no no, I need a better proof than that ..." She said, her eyes shining with childish amusement and he seemed to give it a thought before turning slightly towards Jemma. Which forced her to realize how much more she had leaned into Fitz during the last hour and she reluctantely sat up a little straighter.

"Fine, would I be able to do ..." He started as he brought his hand to Jemma's face, gently took a stray lock of hair and brought it behind her ear. She did her best not to blush. She always loved it when he did that. It was a simple gesture but there was something so sweet and delicate about it, it showed Fitz's true nature and it always made her heart flutter, even before ... When he took his hand away from her hair though, he had a playing card in his hands, a queen of hearts. "...that?" He finished and turned to Skye with a triumphant grin.

She tried her best not to look impressed. "Oh come on, it's a basic trick Fitz, anyone could do it with a little practice" She said, with a mocking grin.

"Oh yeah?" He said with a mischievous grin and Jemma rolled her eyes fondly. She'd seen him do that trick many times and even though she knew how he did it, she still found it impressive because it did require a certain amount of dexterity. Also, it wasn't like him to be so cocky and confident about anything other than science. For some reason, he did it a little more often lately and to her own surprise, she found it kind of charming. "Then you might want to take a look in the mirror, I think you've got something in your hair ..."

"What ..." She started, checking her hair until she came out with another card, a king of hearts, and she couldn't hide her surprise this time. "How did you do that? Why did you even have playing cards on you to begin with?" She asked, showing every one else the card and he smiled even wider.

"It's magic!" He said and she rolled her eyes. "And now you have to admit that I'm not drunk and therefore a proper legend!" He added with another triumphant grin.

"Fine your head and and your hands are working fine but you have to take the balance test for me to officially declare you a drunk legend" She said with a mischievous grin.

"Your mom's gonna be so proud!" Jemma said, turning to him with a raised eyebrow and they all chuckled.

"Well my uncle Hamish might be ..." He answered with a grin. "Okay Skye, I'll do this but it's the last one, you're not gonna keep inventing new tests, right?" He added, turning to her.

"Promise!"

-0-0-0-

Five minutes later, a very confused Bobbi walked into the bar with Mack. Fitz was standing up on one leg, his head tilted upwards and strangely gesticulating with his arms. As they got closer to the group, an amused smile made its way on their faces as they saw that Skye was trying to do the same. It was obviously much more difficult for her.

"So what's happening here?" Mack said with a disapproving if slightly amused shake of his head. "Are we back in college or what?" He added and Bobbi chuckled.

"Looks like Skye challenged Fitz to a drinking game ... which is a very bad idea!" Bobbi said and Fitz grinned at her, remembering the one time they went for a drink together and she under estimated him.

"Okay that's it ..." He started as he put his foot down and resumed a normal position. "... Skye I win, you have to say it now!" He added and turned to her expectantly.

"Fine, you are a drinking legend and your Scottish ancestors must be so proud of you right now!" She said, also going back to a normal position, somewhat less gracefully than Fitz, as buzzed as she was.

After bowing down to an amused crowd, Fitz resumed his sit against the wall and Jemma resumed her sit next to him, closely followed by Skye who leaned into her a bit in a bid to steady herself and Jemma rolled her eyes gently.

"Told you it was a bad idea to try and outdrink him" She told her friend with a disapproving shake of her head. "Can someone get a glass of water for Skye, I think she's had enough alcohol for tonight" She said and Trip stood up to get one from the bar.

"So Hunter, did you really invite everyone on the base?" Jemma said, turning to the British man who'd been watching the whole scene with a big smile on his face. "Should we expect agents May and Coulson anytime soon?" She added and he chuckled.

"Yeah I did invite May but for some reason she never answers my texts!" He said and they all laughed.

"Well at least you could have invited Koenig, with a few drinks we could have learned more about him" She said with a smirk and was surprised to hear Bobbi answer her.

"No that wouldn't work ... androids can't get drunk ..." She said and Jemma's face fell to Fitz and Trip's delight. The two exchanged a loud high five and Jemma let out a big sigh.

"Come on Bobbi not you too ..." She said and the tall woman smiled mischievously.

"I have to admit these guys make a few good points" She said with a small grin just as Mack was coming back from the bar with their drinks. Jemma knew she was most likely just humoring Fitz to make him smile and even though she didn't feel like encouraging him in his crazy ideas, her best friend's joy was contagious and she was grateful to Bobbi for that. She knew these past few months had been harder on him than he liked to admit and it was good to finally see him so relaxed.

As Mack sat next to Trip on the other side of the booth, Bobbi found herself a bit stuck as there clearly wasn't enough room for a seventh person.

"Come on guys scoot" She said, turning to Jemma and Fitz's side of the booth and as bad as they tried, there still wasn't enough room for one more person.

"Can't you seat next to Mack?" Fitz asked.

"Don't be ridiculous, Mack's already taking the space of at least two like you ..." She said, chuckling and the big man looked at her with an expression of mock offense.

"Well can't we find a bigger booth then?" He asked before looking around and seeing that the bar was actually pretty full. It was friday night after all, they could already consider themselves lucky for finding one in the first place. "...never mind that" He said when he turned back to Bobbi who was looking at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Okay then ..." Jemma said after a moment's hesitation. "... Fitz sit back properly!" She said and he obeyed almost automatically even though he clearly wasn't getting what she was planning on doing. Then she got up, turned sideways and sat back on his lap, her back to the wall and her arm lightly resting on his shoulder to keep herself steady.

As she did so, she was faced with several raised eyebrows, knowing grins and a deeply blushing Fitz. Gone was the cocky confident man from only a few moments ago, back was the usual Fitz, a bit shy and clearly not comfortable with physical contact. And even though she had to admit she felt like she was going a bit far by doing this, she acted as casually as she could about it.

"What? We're not gonna let Bobbi sit on the floor so unless someone else feels like sitting on someone else's lap ..." She said raising her own eyebrows and no one seemed to have a thing to say to contradict her ... until Hunter spoke.

"Actually I wouldn't mind having one of you ..." He started but Bobbi cut him off.

"Shut up Hunter!" She said as Skye finally moved closer to Jemma and Fitz, living room for her to sit at the table. "Jemma, Fitz, thank you for your sacrifice ..." Bobbi added with only the ghost of a smirk after a moment.

"You're very welcome ..." Fitz said, still blushing but visibly trying to regain a modicum of confidence.

Soon enough, everyone started talking again, going on about how rare it was for them to have a night off, especially all of them at the same time. Once she felt like the attention was definitely not on them anymore, Jemma got her face closer to Fitz's ear.

"Is this alright?" She asked, almost whispering to make sure no one else would hear her.

"Yeah yeah of course" He said, smiling softly.

"Cause if you feel uncomfortable or I'm too heavy I can ..." She started but he cut her off.

"No it's fine really, I told you you're a light weight anyway ..."He started, grinning slightly. "... yeah ...is completely fine" He added a minute later, his voice much lower, probably thinking she wouldn't hear him but she still did.

"Okay ..." She just said with a small smile and turned her head back towards the others. After a few minutes of being back into the conversation, she felt him take her hand tentatively under the table. For a second she was a little startled but then, she gently intertwined her fingers with his to show him that the gesture was completely and totally welcome. She didn't feel like turning to him though. Her eyes might have betrayed the fluttering in her chest way too easily at the moment.

-0-0-0-

As the evening advanced, Fitz eased into the conversation. It probably helped having Bobbi there as well as her but Jemma still felt happy to see him fit in so well in her new group of friends. He might have told her a hundred times how perfectly content he was and that he wouldn't want to be anywhere else, there was always a little worry deep down that he wouldn't adjust to this new non official version of SHIELD and decide to leave. The fact that he came back from every mission all excited about having actually used one of the technologies he designed was slowly helping take that worry away and she felt like tonight would do a lot to help as well.

They all got to share funny stories and anecdotes about their time in SHIELD. Of course Bobbi, Mack and Trip were the ones who had the most to share, having been on the field for much longer than everyone else. Bobbi especially had quite a few fun stories to tell about Coulson but somehow no one had anything on May. Everyone had their own version about the whole cavalry thing but since they didn't match even a little bit, they had to come to the conclusion that the truth would probably remain a secret for much longer.

Skye had a big success when she told the story of how Jemma tried to flirt her way out of a potentially problematic situation with agent Sitwell. Everyone had a good laugh but Fitz laughed so hard that he almost chocked on his beer again when Skye said how she complimented the man on his elbows and bald head. Jemma almost had a mind to let him suffocate but still reluctantly tapped on his back to help him while muttering that he hadn't always been the smoothest man when it came to flirting. Even if she had to admit that he was definitely getting better at it recently.

Jemma and Fitz also had some funny stories to share about their time at the academy where they were always the youngest. They told about the system they found to be able to drink alcohol with the other students even though they weren't legal in the US. Skye was especially surprised to learn that Jemma, of all people, was willing to break the rules.

"Well we were legal back home so we were following the rules ... just not the ones from this country!" Jemma said feeling a little uncomfortable.

"I can't believe this is coming from you Simmons!" Skye said grinning.

"Yeah ... took a lot of convincing believe me. Especially back then, she was even worse than she is now!" Fitz said and she swatted his arm.

"Hey ... I know how to have fun!" She said, looking a bit offended.

"I never said you didn't" He answered with an amused smile. "just that you really like following the rules!" He added and she rolled her eyes.

"Well nothing wrong with that ..." She said. "And I did find many of our ideas for our legendary pranks" She added with a triumphant smile he could only reciprocate.

"Yeah you did ... hey remember that time when professor ..." He started but he was cut off by the sudden change of music and volume.

Up until now, the music had been a pretty wide but quite good selection of British pop/rock music and the volume had been high enough that they could hear it but not so high that they needed to speak too loud. But as it faded from "Wonderwall" to a piece of traditional high paced Irish music, not only the volume of the music rose up but it also became much louder in general as most people in the bar cheered as soon as it started. It seemed that this bar did attract many people from the other side of the pond.

"Oh my god Fitz do you recognize what song this is?" Jemma cried out with a very enthusiastic smile.

"Of course I do" He said, obviously less enthusiast. "I have a very good memory ... unfortunately"

"Oh come on don't be so grumpy, even you had fun that time!" She said and he shook his head in denial, knowing perfectly well what was coming.

"Hu guys ... care to explain?" Skye asked with an amused smile.

"This song was at our graduation party and it was the first time I managed to make him dance!" Jemma said beaming and Skye smiled at her friend's contagious smile.

"First and only time and it will remain that way ..." He said as he looked like he was trying to blend with the leather of their seat.

"No there was also this other time when we" She started but he cut her off.

"No no no this time doesn't count, you'd just been through another bad break up and you used it against me to make me do as you pleased and you know it" He said and she blushed a little. She did tend to do that sometimes.

"Oh come on grumpy, you have to dance, this is the music of your ancestors!" Skye said with a grin and even Jemma rolled her eyes a bit at that.

"Skye this is Irish music ..." He said with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah so?"

"I'm Scottish!"

"Well it's pretty much the same, isn't it?" She asked tentatively.

"Oh Skye ..." Fitz and Simmons said at the same time.

"If you want to use clichés, at least use them correctly" Fitz started with an exasperated tone. "For Scotland it's Loch Ness monsters, haunted castles, men wearing kilts and bagpipe, for Ireland it's leprechauns, four leaves cloves and silly people dancing to silly music" He said, his accent getting much stronger by the end of his sentence and it made Jemma smile. It reminded her of how he used to speak when they first met and he'd only been in the US for a few months. Sometimes, even her had trouble understanding him back then.

"Fine fine, but it doesn't mean you cannot dance on it, there's no law against it you know!" She answered with an eye roll of her own.

"I could ... I just don't want to!" He answered with a smirk.

"Well I'm going to! Who's with me?" Skye said looking over at the three men facing her with a seductive smile. Hunter and Mack did an admirable job avoiding her eyes but it wasn't necessary anyway since Trip actually seemed quite enthusiastic about it.

As their friends stood up and started walking towards the centre of the bar, Jemma turned back towards Fitz with a warm if slightly flirtatious smile. "Please Fitz, just this song I promise ..." She said, her face really close to him to make herself heard over the loud music.

"No, you know I hate dancing and we're going to look ridiculous anyway, it's not a night club, it's a bar, people are not ..." He started but as he looked in the direction of Skye and Trip, he saw that quite a few other people were dancing as well and more were coming. Was that song magic or something? When he turned back, she was looking at him with pleading eyes and she could see the exact moment he gave in. There was a bit of exasperation in his eyes but there was mostly tenderness. She felt a bit guilty using whatever his feelings for her were at her advantage but she knew that whatever he said, he would really have fun with her once he loosened up a bit. "Fine but just this song!" He said.

"Yeah I promise! Thank you Fitz!" She said beaming at him as she engulfed him in a quick hug then stood up from his lap as Bobbi stood up once more to let them through with a fond smile.

"And you'll ask Coulson about the monkey" He added as she was taking his hand to lead him towards the temporary dance floor.

"Sure, no problem, first thing in the morning!" She said with a big happy smile and he stopped walking for a moment.

"You always say that every time I do you a favor but then you never do it ..." He said in a slightly accusing tone and she looked at him with an amused smile.

"But you know it and yet somehow you always end up doing what I ask of you ..." She said and his eyes seemed to lose focus for a second as he processed what she just said.

"Yeah I guess ..."

"Why is that?" She asked, getting a little closer to him and he just looked at her with a warm knowing smile. And if that wasn't enough for her to understand, the tenderness in his eyes as well as the flicker of something else made it perfectly clear.

"Oh ..." She said, gently squeezing the hand that was still in hers and she had to literally bite her lip to stave off the wave of warm feelings that was threatening to overwhelm her at this moment.

-0-0-0-

Of course, they didn't stop at only one song. Jemma argued that she wasted half the song trying to convince him to dance, which was true, so he agreed to a second one. After that Bobbi joined them as well and even though he would probably deny it afterwards, Fitz actually started to have fun. He tended to be a little self conscious about his lack of grace but everyone else's total inability to dance properly on that specific music finally rid him of his apprehensions. He even took turns dancing with Skye and Bobbi as well. It seemed that he finally understood what Jemma had been telling him for years, that it was not about being a good dancer, it was just about letting go and have fun.

They kind of lost track of time as they started talking again and it's only when the music changed again for something slower that they realized that their friends had left the dance floor and they were the only two left in a crowd of what was mostly couples. Jemma was about to ask him if he wanted to get back to the table when he let go of her hand to bring his arms around her waist with a tentative smile. She had a moment of hesitation as she tried to ignore Skye and Bobbi looking at them from their booth, but then she told herself that a dancing Fitz was such a rare occurence, she had to enjoy it while it lasted. So she locked her hands behind his neck and gave him a soft smile as they started swaying to what probably was the most romantic song she ever heard.

As it seemed that Skye and Bobbi finally found another source of distraction, Jemma let herself relax in Fitz's arms for a minute or so. But then, after he repositioned his hands on her waist and hips a few times, she couldn't stop her mind from thinking back to what those girls had implied about Fitz during that conversation she overheard in the kitchen weeks ago. His hands did feel nice, warm through the thin fabric of her blouse, soft and firm at the same time and she felt like she had to talk again before she completely lost herself in the sensation.

She lifted her face up from where it was nestled on his chest and asked him the first thing that popped into her head. "So do you have news of all the people you were locked up with at Sci-Ops?" She said and winced a bit at how low her voice sounded. She had clearly overestimated her own ability to hide how she felt. "I don't think I've seen them around much ..." She added.

"Yeah ... from what I know, they're all doing alright. I think Johnson talked about leaving SHIELD for a time but he changed his mind" He said and made a pause before continuing. "Honestly, I haven't talked to them much since then ... I spent every waking second with them for three weeks ... and it really is enough!" He said and she chuckled.

"Didn't see eye to eye with your roommates, did you?" She asked with a small grin.

"Yeah you could say that ... anyway you're the only person i've ever wanted to live with ... and the only one that could handle me!" He answered without a flicker of hesitation.

From the genuinely amused smile he had on his face as he said that, she could say that he didn't even realize the double meaning there was behind his sentence. But she obviously did and she had to make a conscious effort not to swoon at how absolutely adorable and kind of romantic of him it was. He obviously meant living together as roommates like they did for several years while working at Sci-Ops but with the recent developments in their relationship, she couldn't help thinking about how it could sound like living together as ... definitely more than friends.

And that's when the memory hit her. She was thinking back about all the times they acted like an actual couple except for the few little physical parts of this type of relationships and that was what brought her back to that time Fitz had to carry her after she's had a little too much to drink. She was grateful to him for failing to mention the both of them sleeping in his bed because she couldn't find the key to her room. She really didn't feel like seeing another one of Skye's smug knowing grins. She had spent the good part of that evening cursing most men and saying how utterly useless they were, especially those called Milton, and Fitz had patiently listened, telling her how he just wasn't deserving of the wonderful person she was anyway. She had woken up in his bed a few hours later, her brain still not completely clear from the alcoholic fog and realized how amazing this one man next to her was. After carrying her all the way from the bar, he had gently deposited her on his bed and since she fell asleep within seconds, he apparently took it on him to divest her of her coat and highly uncomfortable shoes and put a big fluffy blanket on her so she wouldn't be cold. Not to mention the fact that he let her take two thirds of his already small student bed and fell asleep trapped between her and the wall. But it didn't even seem to bother him because when she opened her eyes, he was lying on his back with the ghost of a smile on his angelic features. The soft light of the rising sun hitting his face had reminded her how handsome he was and that fact coupled with his sweet, caring and gentlemanly attitude of the previous night, and really every day since they met, had pulled her irresistibly towards him. Her state of half sleepiness probably helping, she had moved closer to him and delicately laid a kiss on his soft lips. Wether it was a coincidence or his reaction at the the contact of her skin on his, that's when she felt him start to move. As a reflex, she had taken her lips away from his and rested her head on his shoulder and her arm on his chest, pretending to still be asleep. And it's only when she heard him clear his throat that she opened her eyes again and smiled at him a little shyly.

And even though it only lasted a few seconds, the warmth that spread through her body at the time had confused her greatly. She couldn't let herself feel that way about the best friend she ever had, which is why she had done such a good job forgetting about it ... until now.

"Yeah, that was really nice ..." It's only when she heard Fitz's voice that she realized she had actually just said that out loud instead of just thinking it.

"What was nice?" He asked, his brows adorably frowning in confusion. "Jemma?" he added when she just looked at him, her mouth opening and closing again a few times as she was searching for a plausible answer. She couldn't talk to him about a kiss they shared that he didn't know about.

"Living together ..." She finally said. "Sorry I was lost in thoughts but it was nice, wasn't it? Our apartment in Boston ..." She added with a soft smile, actually starting to remember that as well.

"Yeah it really was ..." He answered beaming. "I think I missed living with you even more than I missed working with you ... and I missed your cooking a lot too!" He added with another blinding smile and a playful gleam in his eyes.

"I could kiss him right now" She thought as she looked into his amazing blue eyes, standing out even in the dimness of the bar. And as the moment lingered and his gaze became even more intense than it usually was, she thought that it was time, that was she was going to kiss him, while he was awake this time, and face the consequences, see what they could become ... but it seemed that the universe had decided otherwise. And more specifically to stop her through her two, still slightly drunk, annoying friends. Just as she was about to lean in, she caught sight of Skye and Bobbi from the corner of her eye, looking at them with the biggest smile on their faces. It was enough to distract her and even though she broke eye contact for only a second, it felt like the charm was broken and her courage from only a few seconds ago had flown away.

He too looked down for a moment and cleared his throat with a little embarrassed smile. "it's getting kind of late, right?" He said, trying to gain back a little composure.

"Yeah I guess ... do you wanna ... go back to the base?" She said, trying to hide her disappointment at the idea of seing this evening end like this and it made her smile internally to see how disappointed he looked as well.

"Yeah, we should go soon ... but let's finish this song first, yeah?" He said with a tentative smile, slightly retightening his arms around her waist.

"Okay ..." She said, beaming back as she tried to ignore the rush of warmth his hands and smile had sent all through her body again. As they started swaying to the music once more, she crossed eyes with Skye and Bobbi again. They were looking at her with another tender smile and she rolled her eyes at them. But then Fitz laid a kiss on her hairline and his lips lingered there long enough that she was physically incapable to stop the delighted smile that made its way on her face. When she saw her friends swoon even more, she decided that she'd had enough so she buried her face into Fitz's shoulder and closed her eyes. Surely Skye and Bobbi would have much to say about this later and she would need to speak with Fitz really soon but for now she just wanted to enjoy the few minutes of dancing with him she had left.

Turned out she had two more minutes until the end of the song ... and twenty more after that.


	10. Chapter ten

That night, Jemma didn't sleep much. Mostly because she went to bed late and had to get up early for a meeting with Director Coulson, but also because as tired as she was, she had trouble shutting out her brain after the evening she'd just spent. She was also a bit hungover, not that she would ever admit it to Fitz, but still, when her alarm came off at 7 am, she woke up with the biggest smile on her face.

She grabbed her phone to turn it off. After a moment's hesitation, she set her alarm twenty minutes later. For once, she would forego her usual morning workout and use this time to sleep a bit more and maybe-maybe her mind could take her back to that very nice dream she was having just before her alarm rang.

She did not fall back asleep but that didn't stop her mind from wandering. When she thought about it, she realized that waking up with a smile on her face wasn't a very rare occurence anymore, especially these last few weeks. Since Hydra revealed itself and all her life was turned upside down, her nights had been filled mostly with nightmares, though not half as bad as Fitz had them, and she tended to wake up with a sense of dread and imminent danger every morning. When they had found the playground and especially after they had rescued Fitz, she had started to feel better, safer, more serene. The nightmares had receded and it wasn't so hard to wake up anymore. But these last few weeks, her dreams had been more than pleasant and she often woke up in the morning feeling ... happy.

The world was still a very dangerous place and the threat of Hydra was real but still, she felt happy, to the point where she felt a bit guilty about it. When she opened her eyes again, she was hit by a ray of sunlight falling on the pillow next to her. Of course it wasn't real sunlight, the base being mostly windowless, but a lamp mimicking the light from the sun to help her wake up more easily. That brought her back to that morning years ago when she had woken up next to Fitz. She was hungover and sad from her breakup with Milton but seing Fitz there, just next to her bathed in actual sunlight had brought a smile to her face and made her heart flutter with the same happiness she was feeling right now.

And now, seven years later, he was still her main reason for smiling. He was the one responsible for most of the pleasant dreams and thoughts she was having recently and if she was completely honest with herself, he was also responsible for her being irrationally jealous of a girlfriend he had months ago. Because if she was a bit disappointed that he didn't tell her, she was mostly jealous.

And there was only one thing that could explain all that he was making her feel recently and she wouldn't wait another day to tell him. But first she had to get off bed, get ready and go to her meeting with Coulson. After weeks of hesitation and flirting and warm confusing feelings, she felt like the few hours separating them from that inevitable conversation would seem like an eternity.

-0-0-0-

"So what's the deal with you and Bobbi?" Trip asked as he and Hunter we were walking towards the sofa. Fitz sighed as loud as he could but the two men didn't notice or maybe just pretended they didn't.

"What do you mean?" Hunter answered as they flopped down.

"Oh come man, one minute you're ranting about how evil she is and the next you're all over each other!" Trip said with an amused grin.

"Oh no we're good, we had a really long talk last night and I think we're in good place now" Hunter said and Fitz couldn't stop the burst of laughter that came out of his mouth.

"A really long talk? Is that how you call it?" He said with a big grin, turning towards the two men behind him. He didn't want to take part in that conversation but since the men had decided to use his lab as their break room, he might as well take any occasion to make fun of them if he could.

"What?" Hunter said, looking as innocent as he could, which was quite remarkable considering innocent rarely was the first word that came to mind when one wanted to describe Lance Hunter. From his knowing grin, Fitz deduced that Trip wasn't fooled either.

"Remember Bobbi's room is right next to mine right?" Fitz said with a raised eyebrow and Hunter deflated a bit before regaining his usual confidence.

"Well we did talk a lot afterwards ..." He said and they all chuckled.

"On a completely different topic, you do know that we have a break room in this base right?" Fitz said with a slightly annoyed tone. "Fully equipped with a kitchen, tv, comfortable sofas, everything ..."

"Yeah but it's always full of people, it's better here, much quieter ..." Hunter said with a big smile and Fitz rolled his eyes to the back of his head.

"Maybe because it's a lab and people are working, well trying to work here!"

"Oh come on mate take a break, it's saturday, you shouldn't even be working ..." Hunter said, sighing.

"Yeah well it's not like SHIELD is a normal job right? I Have to finish this today, I'll probably have the day off tomorrow ... or not" Fitz answered, sighing as well as he turned back and started working again. But just as he thought that maybe the two men had understood he really needed to stay focused, Hunter started talking again.

"So how about you Trip? I saw you dance with Skye last night ... is there something going on there?" He asked, visibly not really keen on either leaving to get to work or going back to the subject of Bobbi.

"Ah ah no no no ..." Trip answered immediately with a big laugh. "... I mean, she's obviously real pretty and a terrific girl but she's like family!" He added with a sincere smile but Hunter didn't seem totally convinced and Fitz told himself that the man really had trouble with the notion of being friends with someone from the opposite gender.

"No really!" Trip added when he saw Hunter's raised eyebrow and after a moment's hesitation he started talking again. "Actually back when I joined the team, I kind of had my eyes on Jemma ..." He said with what Fitz thought was an amused tone in his voice.

Fitz thought he did quite a remarkable job of acting like he didn't care about that information. Of course he was wrong because his whole body tensed at once for a few seconds and the two other men noticed immediately before sharing a big amused smile.

"Oh yeah?" Hunter answered, his smile turning a bit mischievous.

"Yeah ... I mean pretty, sweet, beyond smart and that sexy British accent ... What's not to like?" He answered, looking toward Fitz who was so focused on looking like he wasn't interested in the conversation that he'd been screwing and unscrewing the same bolt for a full minute.

"Oh you like a British accent?" Hunter asked, waggling his eyebrows suggestively and Trip chuckled.

"Yeah ... on a woman ... You, I don't understand half of what you say!" He said and Hunter rolled his eyes. "Anyway, that was before lover boy over there came back and I realized I didn't stand a chance with her ..." he added and Fitz couldn't help huffing this time.

"Oh please ..." He said. These last few weeks, Fitz had noticed that their friends had stopped teasing them about their relationship. He thought that maybe they had finally decided to let them deal with their feelings on their own time and he was grateful. Of course it was too good to be true, they were just waiting for the right time to strike again. He didn't expect it from Trip though.

"So Fitz come on, how are things with Jemma recently?" Trip asked and the note of sincere interest in his voice almost made Fitz crack.

"They're ... fine, thanks for asking. Now would you two please mind your own business and let me work now?" He said, turning back to look at them, looking as grumpy as he could, hoping it would be enough.

"Oh come on we've seen the two of you recently, you're not even trying to hide it anymore ... I mean last night you were acting like two horny teenagers it was almost embarrassing ..." Hunter said and Fitz blushed slightly before straightening up again.

"I already told you, we're just ..." He started but Hunter cut him off with an half annoyed half amused tone.

"Oh come on not the we're just best friends thing again! Best friends don't sit on each other's lap, best friends don't hold each other's hands under the table ..." He said and Fitz blushed even deeper at that. And he thought he'd been discreet. "... and for someone who hates dancing, you sure spent a long time on the dance floor" He finished raising his eyebrows as if defying Fitz to contradict him.

And as stubborn as he was, Fitz knew when to recognize he was defeated.

"Fine fine ..." He started. "There might be ... something else ..." He added, his voice trailing off by the end of his sentence.

"Finally!" The two other men cried out in unison. "Some progress at last!" Hunter added.

"So what are you waiting for?" Trip asked with a sincere smile. "What are you afraid of? She obviously feels ... something else as well and I mean it's Jemma, you two are as close as two people can be!" He added and Fitz sighed.

"Exactly it's Jemma ... Can I really risk it all?" He said, feeling vulnerable. He'd never been really good at sharing such personal issues. He'd had a few friends or classmates he spent some time with but no one as close as Jemma and this time, she was the one person he couldn't talk about it.

"Fitz, come on, it's dangerous times we live in, who knows what might happen tomorrow? Don't wait until it's too late" Trip said with a small smile and a raised eyebrow. Hunter had apparently decided to shut up for now. Evidently, he had noticed how Trip's more subtle and delicate approach gave much better results with Fitz and was more than happy to lay back and watch.

And Trip's words did ring true to Fitz. He remembered the three weeks he was locked up inside Sci-Ops. Of course he'd been afraid of being caught, being tortured or even dying but when he wasn't busy doing what was necessary to stay locked up, his mind kept traveling back to Jemma. It physically hurt him to think that she could have died during the attack and he spent more than one night silently crying when he thought about how much he regretted not being with her those past eight months and never telling her how much he loved her. But then they got reunited and it didn't seem that they were in immediate danger anymore and anyway, the love between them had always been implicite. He would have all the time in the world to tell her how he felt ... except maybe not. As Trip said, who knew what could happen tomorrow or the next day.

Fitz must have been lost in thoughts much longer than he thought because when he looked up, the two other men were looking at him with a questioning and slightly amused look.

"Fine ... I'll talk to her ... soon!" He said, his face a bit flushed before turning back to his workstation.

"That's a good boy" Hunter said, smiling widely.

"Yeah ... cause if you don't, maybe I'll take my chance ..." Trip said with a teasing grin and Fitz's head snapped up so fast that he couldn't help laughing at how comical it was. And Fitz's attempt at a mean look made it only worse.

"I'm kidding man, I'm kidding but that just proves my point you know ..." He said, holding his hands up in the air.

"Yeah yeah sure ..."

-0-0-0-

Ten minutes later, Fitz heard footsteps in the hallway leading to its lab. When the footsteps got closer and he realized the person was coming in, he let out a big sigh. Hunter and Trip had left five minutes ago, finally taking pity on him and leaving to let him work in peace, or at least he thought they did.

But as he was about to ask them what ridiculous excuse they had made up to come back, he lifted his head and saw that it was definitely not Trip or Hunter but Gina. They'd been avoiding each other quite successfully since they both arrived at the playground but now that their eyes had crossed and they were the only two people in the lab, it would be pretty hard to keep acting like they didn't see each other. It's not like their relationship ended on bad terms really but he'd been the one to end it when she visibly wasn't on the same page and things had been awkward enough back in Sci-Ops.

As Fitz was internally panicking and wondering what he should do, she was the first one to react.

"Hello Fitz, how are you doing?" She said with a polite smile as she stopped as far from his workstation as possible without it being weird.

"Oh hi ... I'm fine thanks. You?" He answered, trying to force a smile on his face.

"Fine ..." She said and after a moment of silent awkwardness she added: "Well, lots of work to do, I guess I'll see you around" She said and he could only nod as she started walking toward the storage closet. Fitz had already turned back to his work so he only heard her take something out of it and walk back toward the door.

"Well at least that's over!" He thought. He knew that it was bound to happen at some point but he still hoped it wouldn't. At least Jemma wasn't here to witness it and he wouldn't have to explain it to her. He had gone as far as hiding in a storage room once or twice when he saw her coming from afar and had used the video feed from the security cameras a few times to make sure she wasn't in the room he wanted to go. He knew it wasn't a really mature thing to do but he hadn't been in a lot of relationships and he was already bad at dealing with them but he even worst at it when they were over.

Gina, on the other hand, was visibly much more mature, coming to talk to him, being polite and everything. Because she was extremely polite and sweet ... and quite smart. She had been the one to pursue him and even though he didn't feel anything but sympathy for her, Bobbi had pushed him to accept a date. "I'm not telling you to marry her but not every successful relationship has to start with fireworks, just give her a chance" She had said and finding it hard to contradict Bobbi, he had finally agreed. And he did have a good time on their first date. They shared a common interest in science and a few other things and for once, it was nice to see someone who was actually fascinated by how smart he was and not freaked out. And even if he felt a bit ashamed about it now, the fact that she was obviously physically attracted to him made him feel good about himself. And since she was also very pretty with her wavy brown hair, kind eyes and generous lips, he just gave it a try.

But then, after a few weeks, he realized that it wouldn't work, that however great she was, he didn't love her and probably never would. And as he wasn't the kind of person to be in a relationship just for fun, he decided to break it up.

He never really understood why it didn't work out since she had all the qualities he'd always been attracted to but then as he lifted his head again and saw her walk out of the room wearing a navy blouse, black jeans and a pair of DocMartens, it finally hit him.

"Of course, how could I be so oblivious?" He thought, face palming himself, hoping he really was alone in the lab.

And suddenly he felt like it couldn't wait anymore. He had to talk to Jemma and he had to do it immediately.

-0-0-0-

Jemma had a meeting with Coulson about half an hour ago so she was probably still in his office. So Fitz put down what he was working on, deciding that it wasn't so urgent after all and left the lab to go wait for her outside of Coulson's office. But as he was on his way, he walked passed the common room and saw that she was actually there, preparing some tea. He was planning on asking her to go somewhere more private to talk but there was no one else in the room so it would have to do. He took a big breath and came in.

"Hey" He simply said with a small smile as he got closer to her.

"Hi" She answered, beaming back.

"I have fantastic news!"

"I'd like to talk to you about ..."

They both stopped talking when they realized they were talking over each other.

"You go" She said with a warm smile as she started walking toward the couch and he followed her.

"No no you go, you said it first I think ..." He said as he settled close to her. He still wanted to talk to her. Badly. But he didn't want it to be a random topic of conversation they would go over in ten minutes before moving on to something else. So it was better she told him her news and then they could move on to what might be the most important conversation they would ever have.

"Okay well, this is not official or anything and actually I probably shouldn't tell you just yet but ..." She started with a big smile and her enthusiasm was so contagious that he beamed back without even having the faintest idea of where she was going with this. "... Coulson is going to ask you to be co-chef of the scientific department with me!" She finished and couldn't help herself from grabbing his hand.

"Oh wow ..." He said squeezing her hand in his. His eyes were wide with surprise and it took a moment for the smile to make its way on his face as he was proceeding the information.

"I know right?"

"But I've only been here a few months and surely there are older agents that could ..." He started but she cut her off.

"But no one quite as brilliant as you are ... well except me of course" She said and he chuckled. "You know he wanted you on the team from the beginning and with all the new scientists coming in, two of us to manage them won't be too much I can assure you ..." She said and he could see the little flickr of nostalgia that passed in her eyes for a second before a slightly shy made its way back to her face. "So ... do you think you'll say yes?" She asked and the touch of hope and uncertainty in her voice made his heart melt. After all these months, she was still scared that he would leave. He didn't want to, he loved working here and anyway how could he when she was looking at him like that?

"Of course Jemma! If it means working with you even more, I'm all in!" He said and grabbed her other hand so they were all entwined together.

They remained there just smiling at each other for a moment, their eyes sometimes darting toward their hands but not one of them willing to break the contact. It probably only lasted a few seconds, a minute tops but lost as he was in her eyes, it could have been hours and he would't have noticed.

"So ..." She started, breaking the silence. "... what did you want to talk to me about?" She said and he could swear there was a flickr of hope in her smile. Like maybe the moment they just shared was enough to tell her what he had planned and she was just waiting for confirmation.

"Oh yeah ... hum ..." He started before realizing he hadn't actually thought about what he would tell her exactly. "Well you know ... things have been ... hmm ... nice between us lately, more than nice actually, and I feel like I want- I mean do you ... argh ..." He cried out in frustration and took his head in his hands, hoping it would help him collect his thoughts.

"Fitz? .. Is there something wrong?"

"No no no" He said, taking her hands in his to reassure her when he heard the little tone of worry in her voice. Why was it so hard to talk to her when what he had to say was in fact perfectly simple. "Everything's alright really, I'm just having trouble getting the words out of my stupid mouth!" He said and she couldn't help laughing fondly at his little show of bad temper.

"So ... yeah you know how we said we should let our relationship evolve naturally? Well I think that ..." He started but he was cut off by Bobbi calling out their names from the hallway. "Oh bloody hell ..." He said under his breath as he let go of her hands.

"In here Bobbi" Jemma said, her tone much cheerier than Fitz's would be.

"Oh hi guys" The tall woman said as she entered the room. "Sorry to bother you but Nathanson needs you Jemma"

"Oh of course he does. Do you know what it's about?" She asked, sighing loudly.

"Something about a blood sample ... I think ... I was distracted, he's very annoying ..." She said and even Fitz had to chuckle at that.

"Okay, well thanks for me letting me know, I'll take care of that"

"No problem, see you later guys" Bobbi said with a smile before leaving the room.

"Sorry about that Fitz ... What were you about to say?" Jemma said, turning back toward Fitz with a warm smile.

"Well hmmm ...no don't worry go back to work, we can talk about it later it's nothing important ..." He said disappointment clear on his face as he started to stand up.

"No Fitz it really is ... important ..." She said as she grabbed his arm again and moved closer to him on the couch. The intensity and tenderness with which she looked at him at this moment told him everything he needed to know. She knew exactly what he wanted to tell her and she felt the same. For a moment he just remained a bit stunned but then a smile slowly made its way on his face and he moved even closer to her, as close as they could be and he was pretty sure she could hear his heart beat wildly in his chest. Her own smile grew really wide and he couldn't take his eyes away from her. He hoped they conveyed everything that he felt for her because once again it seemed that his mouth didn't want to.

Apparently they did.

"Fitz?"

"Yeah?"

"I think I'm ... in love with you"

"Jemma?" He said after a few seconds, his smile threatening to split his face in half.

"Yeah?"

"I know I'm in love with you" He said and she laughed fondly.

"Oh Fitz ... it's not a competition you know ..."

"Yeah but still ..." He said with a slightly cocky grin that soon disappeared when she leaned into him and her hand moved up from his arm to his chest. Their faces were now only inches from each other and her voice was barely a whisper when she said:

"So ... what do you think we should about it?"


	11. Chapter eleven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter and the next might be more of a light M rating than a T, nothing graphic or very specific but I wanted to to let you know before you start reading.

They remained still, eyes locked on each other's, for so long, that it might have looked like someone had put a pause on the whole scene. Of course, it would have only been from an outside onlooker's point of view because inside Jemma's head, it was the storm of the century. They were finally where they were supposed to be. Fitz had just admitted that her feelings for him were reciprocated and even though she didn't really doubt it anymore, hearing him say it out loud felt completely different. She didn't expect her heart to start beating so wildly and even though she knew it wasn't scientifically possible, it felt like it could burst out of her chest at any moment now from all the pure unbridled happiness.

And now, here she was, so close to him that she could feel and hear his heart beat as fast as hers and yet somehow, she was incapable of closing the distance between them and do what she had wanted to do for days, weeks if she was perfectly honest.

Fitz had been silent since she asked him what he wanted to do about their feelings but his hand had gone up to her arm, his delicate fingers leaving a trail of pebbled skin, and she could see in his impossibly blue eyes that he just wanted to kiss her as well. But if she knew him at all, he was probably overthinking it, too afraid of messing it up, thus as incapable as she was of finally taking that last step.

The idea that even then they were reacting the same way made her think how perfect they were for each other. And even if it was a bit frustrating in those specific circumstances, she couldn't help the small smile that tugged at her lips. And after all, it seemed that it was just what Fitz needed to stop thinking for a moment. Her smile made his eyes flit to her lips for a second and when he looked back up, there was something new in his eyes and a smile that made her breath hitch. Then finally, his hand went up to gently graze the skin of her neck and he kissed her ... for a second.

They lips had barely come in contact when they were interrupted by the most annoying voice Jemma had ever heard.

"Doctor Simmons? Are you there?" Nathanson asked as he was apparently approaching the common room.

Jemma had just enough time to back away from Fitz before the man came in.

"Yes Nathanson I know I'll be there in a minute!" She said not even bothering to hide her annoyance.

"But Doctor Simmons it's very ..." He started but she cut him off.

"I said I'll be there in a minute. No one is going to die if I dont come right this instant, right?" She said with a sharp tone that seemed to amuse Fitz given the small smile he was trying to hide.

"No no ... of course Doctor Simmons. I'll-I'll wait for you then ..." Nathanson answered, looking a bit sheepish and after a second's hesitation, he walked out of the room.

"Arrrgh" Jemma cried out as she buried her face into Fitz's shoulder, mostly to muffle her cry but also a little bit to enjoy Fitz's closeness one last time before she had to get back to work. He chuckled a little at that and put his hand back on her neck as a soothing gesture and once again it felt delicious and she couldn't help sighing loudly. This had to be the most frustrated she ever felt. All this tension building up to a kiss that promised to be just as wonderful as the man in front of her, to be interrupted by the most annoying man she's ever met!

"I should probably ... go now. I'm sorry Fitz ..." She said when she moved away from him and he gave her a sympathetic smile. As much as she still wanted to kiss him, really kiss him now, she didn't want their first real kiss to be a quick one before going back to work with the fear of someone else interrupting them and preventing her to focus completely on it. She wanted them to be able to take their time and enjoy that kiss the way it deserved to be enjoyed.

"How about dinner? Someplace ... nice?" He finally asked, his hand going to his own neck in what she knew was a nervous gesture.

"A bit early for dinner don't you think?" She said with a teasing smile and he rolled his eyes at her all while not being able to wipe the smile off his face.

"I meant tonight when you're done babysitting Nathanson ..."He said and she chuckled. "... a nice restaurant ... far from the base, where no one will know us or interrupt our ... conversation" He said, blushing slightly at the memory of that first quick but still very nice brush of lips from just a minute ago.

"Oh ..." She started. "Well that sounds like ... yeah I'd really like that" She finished with a warm and slightly amused smile. She couldn't believe she was actually going on a date with her best friend Fitz and she felt as giddy as she's ever been about anything.

"Okay then you go back to work and I'll start working on options to run by you ... for that" He said with a shy little smile and she had to bite her lip to refrain herself from succumbing to so much cuteness and kiss his shyness away. But he was worth waiting for the right time so she just gave him a soft smile before they both got up from the couch and made their way towards the lab.

-0-0-0-

As he was sitting next to Jemma on the quinjet bringing them back to the base, Fitz wondered if maybe some force in the universe was opposed to them finally finishing that conversation. Fitz had found the perfect restaurant for their date. It was a reasonable distance from the base and it was said to have a romantic and intimate atmosphere. He had booked the table not too early to make sure they'd be able to make it even if they had to work a bit late.

And even when they were called out to the quinjet early in the afternoon for an unplanned mission, he remained confident that they would make it home in time. But when he looked at his watch for the tenth time in the last twenty minutes and saw that it was already 10 pm and that they wouldn't land for another hour, he had to admit defeat.

"That's alright Fitz, we can go to diner tomorrow, these kinds of things are bound to happen quite often when we work for SHIELD" Jemma said, almost whispering but still startling him, absorbed as he was in self pity. She tried to keep her tone light but he could see the disappointment she was hiding behind her small smile.

"I know I know ..." He said intertwining his fingers with hers. "But we've already waited so long ..." He said and the longing he felt in his heart when she looked at him was almost too much to bear. If Skye and May hadn't been in the cockpit only a few meters away and Hunter on the other side of the quinjet supposedly sleeping, he would have kissed her then and there.

"I know Fitz ... but we just have to wait one more day and ..."

"No you know what? We don't have to wait one more day" He cut her off, looking back towards Hunter to make sure he was still asleep when he realized he had raised his voice a bit. "It's obviously too late to go to diner but we can still go out, have a drink some place nice, some place no one will bother us and we can finally spend some time just the two of us and definitely decide what this is" He said looking down at their intertwined fingers to make her understand what he meant by this.

"But I should really finish what I had started this morning before we had to leave and ..." She started. He could see in her eyes that, as always, she was trying to act like the responsible one but she couldn't help the small smile and glint in her eyes that told him what she really wanted.

"Come on Jemma, it's Saturday night and it'll be 11 pm when we get to the base ... live a little. Coulson won't be waiting for the results at this time of night anyway!" He said with a teasing smile.

"Alright then I suppose I can forget work for tonight to spend quality time with my best-with ... you" She said, now beaming at him with some kind of childish excitement he found unbearably adorable. It had never been so easy to convince her of something and he couldn't be happier. After checking that Hunter was still asleep, she looped her arm around his and put her head on his shoulder. He didn't have to look down to see the smile on her face when he laid a few kisses on her hair and forehead.

They remained that way, not talking much, for the rest of the trip, even when Hunter woke up and gave Fitz what he thought was a discreet thumbs up. They wouldn't be able to still deny the change in their relationship for very long anyway.

-0-0-0-

Just before they landed, May told everyone that she would make her report to Coulson and they were all free to go as soon as they reached the base.

When they got out of the elevator, they let Skye and Hunter walk ahead and fortunately, they were both quite eager to go take a shower after what had been a short but stressful mission. When they were finally out of sight, Fitz grabbed Jemma's hand and pulled her toward the elevator once more.

"Come on, let's go before someone asks us to save the world again!" He said and she couldn't help laughing.

"But Fitz, I can't go like that, I need a shower ..."

"Nonsense, you're perfect and if Skye or Hunter sees you getting out, they'll want to tag along and ..." He cut her off.

"... and I wanted to wear my green dress, it's not often that ..." She started but he cut her off again.

"... oh okay then!" He said with a sudden glint in his eyes that made her smile wildly.

"You're easy to convince ..." She said with a teasing tone in her voice.

"Well I wouldn't want to deny you of the pleasure of wearing a nice dress ..." He said, leaning against the wall, affecting a casual tone.

"How generous of you"

"Yeah I'm nice like that" He said and she couldn't help smiling at the adorable way he was trying to play it cool. it was awfully awkward but somehow, he managed to make it incredibly charming and she wondered if it was new or if she was just starting to look at him from a different angle.

"So meet me in my room in say ... twenty minutes?" She said with a low voice, getting really close to him to see just how long he could keep up the cool and detached attitude.

Not long apparently.

"Hmmm yeah ... okay yeah I'll-I'll come get you in twenty minutes" He said, visibly affected by Jemma stepping so close into his personal space.

"Okay then ..." She said, keeping her voice low and not moving, thus trapping him between her and the wall he was casually leaning against.

"And I guess I'll go take a shower and change clothes while you take your own and ..." He started. Of course, when faced with a long silence and unable to pace like he would usually do, Fitz started rambling. She could have let him do that for quite some time because she always thought he was kind of cute when he did that, and making Fitz blush like that might also become her new favorite thing but it was late already and she was also very excited about their date.

"Okay so I'll see you in twenty minutes then!" She said in her usual cheery tone and on impulse, kissed his cheek and didn't give him the time to react before turning back and walking toward the bathroom. Tonight was going to be a lot of fun.

-0-0-0-

Jemma did excel at preparation. She'd said it to him hundreds of times since they met but he had never stopped to consider how true it was in every circumstance. In the twenty minutes they gave each other to freshen up before going out, Fitz had barely had the time to take a shower and change into the first clothes he could find. Fortunately, by some miracle or most likely Bobbi's expert eye, most his clothes seemed to fit together anyway so if Jemma's appreciative smile was anything to go by, he must have done alright with his grey pants and jacket and dark blue shirt. But for Jemma ... well it was something else entirely. Not only, did she have the time to take a shower and change but she also managed to do something to her hair and retouch her make up. It was nothing huge, Jemma always liked to remain natural and she didn't need to do more anyway. But the way she had curled her hair a bit more than usual and her bright red lipstick did something to Fitz, something definitely not in the friends spectrum that he couldn't really explain. Not to mention the dress ... He'd seen her wear nice dresses over the years when they went to a party or when they'd gone out just the two of them to celebrate something (no wonder people kept thinking they were a couple back then ...) but it had been a while since it happened and knowing that this time she was actually wearing it for him made it hard for him to focus on their conversation. Which made him feel really guilty because he always criticized Jemma's boyfriends for being more interested in her appearance than in her amazing brain.

And now here he was, acting no better than all those meatheads from the past. She was talking to him about how Nathanson's problem was just that he mixed up two blood samples and that was why he needed her so urgently, and all he could do was focus on the way she was playing with her necklace, painfully bringing his attention on the creamy skin of her less modest than usual cleavage.

Fortunately -or not- they were interrupted by the smartly dressed waiter bringing their drinks. After they successfully managed to get out of the base unseen with, surprisingly, the help of Hunter who kept Skye and Bobbi's attention while they were walking past the common room entrance, they took a car and went a little further than usual into town. They had decided that "Home" would be much too loud and packed on a Saturday evening so they found a quieter and fancier place that looked almost as nice as the restaurant where they had a table booked. It was also quite intimate with really soft lights and they had a corner table which gave them the opportunity to face each other but also be next to each other if they wanted to. So all in all, Fitz thought it was a good choice.

"Fitz, is everything alright? You seem a little off. If you're too tired we can go back to the base and ..." She started and it seemed like it was what he needed to get out of his daze. This was probably the most important date he ever had, he couldn't mess it up by acting like a weirdo.

"No no no ..." He said and on impulse took her hand that was back to playing with her necklace after she'd had a few sips of her cocktail. "I'm really fine, more than fine actually I'm great ... it's just-I-hum ... well please don't judge me but you just look so ... amazing and I just can't wrap my mind around the fact that you might be wearing ... all of this for-for me. And I'm having a bit of trouble focusing on anything else. I'm sorry ..." He finished a bit sheepishly not daring to look into her eyes, thus not seing the glint in her eyes and blush on her cheeks.

"Well I do" She said, her voice a bit lower than she intended. "... look like this for you" She added when he looked up at her, visibly confused. "And I'm glad you noticed too ... it took all my organization skills to pull that off in twenty minutes" She added with a wide grin and they both laughed good-naturedly.

-0-0-0-

After that Fitz finally managed to relax and they easily fell back into their old habits. They talked a lot about their actual and future projects, about the exciting idea of being both heads of the science division but also about things as trivial as the latest Doctor Who episodes Fitz finally managed to catch up on after all these months. Jemma had been waiting impatiently for him to see them so they could discuss some theory she had developed about the science of time travel. They didn't agree on everything of course but he never knew anyone who could debunk his theories as well as Jemma and he wouldn't have changed it for the world. Whatever the subject was, their conversations were always fascinating and as much as they were bickering, they'd always left him with the biggest smile on his face and feeling elated. As the evening advanced, their conversations were also punctuated with something else: a way of smiling at each other that made them both blush, brushes of thighs and arms as they got closer without even realizing it and very deliberate touches of hands whenever they felt like it.

Fitz soon realized that going on a date with Jemma Simmons wasn't much different from going out for a drink with his best friend. It felt just as nice and natural and perfectly right. And when he realized what was that strange feeling he'd been having since the start of this evening, he couldn't help stopping in the middle of his sentence to smile.

"What's that smile for?" She asked with a questioning look.

"I've been having a strange feeling since we arrived here and I've just realized that I've only felt like this beause this is actually not strange at all ... but since I thought it would be, I feel strange that it's not. Does it make sense?" He said, wincing at his own complicated phrasing.

"Strangely enough it does" She said with a fond, knowing smile while gently intertwining her fingers with his on the table.

"Yeah and I guess that's why ..." He said looking at her like she was everything he ever needed and he thought that it might really be close to the truth. "So this is ... working, right? I feel like it is ... it's really really nice, amazing even ... for me at least ..."

"It is Fitz ... but it's not like I really needed a date to know that" She cut him off with a soft smile and a twinkle in her eyes. "Dates are traditionally meant to get to know each other better but I already know you better than I've ever known anyone before and there's nothing about you I don't like ..."

"Yeah but it's not like our relationship has ever been really traditional anyway. But I wanted us to be really just the two of us to talk about that and I thought you deserved to be taken to a fancy place ..." He said with the beginning of a grin.

"... and have a really fancy date ..." She added with a seductive grin as she brushed her hand lightly on his chest to show what she meant by that and it made his heart skip a beat. Would he ever be able to get used to Jemma acting that way with him before his heart burst with love and happiness and other more ... primal feelings? He tried to smile back the same way but he thought it came out more awkward than flirty. Jemma had always been more confident when it came to those things. And it was logical too, she had always been so beautiful.

"Yeah ... well, at least I tried my best ..." He started but she cut him off, sensing the self-deprecative tone hidden behind his smile.

"No Fitz, you succeeded. I told you this whole new look fitted you and I meant it but it's not like it took that for me to notice how handsome you are. And the fact that you seem to be so oblivious about it is just that much more endearing to me ... and it's just one of the millions of reasons I fell in love with you ..." She said now even closer to him, their hands all tangled in each other now.

His breathing seemed just as fast as hers now and as he looked into her eyes, he wanted to tell her, again, that he loved her too and all the reasons for it, however long it would take, but somehow all that managed to get out of his mouth was a really stupid: "Oh Jem ..." Fortunately for him, his face must have conveyed enough emotions because her small smile grew a bit wider ... until it faded and her face turned more serious. Which took him unawares as he was thinking just how much he wanted to lean in and kiss her again, really kiss her this time.

"But before we ... hmm you know ... move on to this new stage of our relationship, there's something I've been meaning to ask you ..." She said and he thought she looked almost embarrassed which kind of scared him because what kind of question could she have to ask him about that that was embarrassing?

"Sure anything Jemma ..." He still said with his best reassuring smile.

"Well it's just something I overheard and it's not like you owe me an answer about that and I feel bad enough for staying and listening to that conversation really but for some reason it's been bothering me. Of course now I know exactly why and it makes perfect sense and ..."

"Jemma? Just tell me please ..."

"Yeah right ... okay" She said straightening up and clearing her throat as she plastered a slightly forced smile on her face. "Some time ago, while you were out on your first mission on the field, I went to the kitchen and overheard those two girls talking, Amy and ... another one" She started and Fitz grinned at the idea that Jemma didn't know someone's name. It has to bother her so much. "They were talking about you and really I didn't mean to eavesdrop but I got ... curious ..." She added a bit sheepishly and Fitz didn't need her to finish to know where this was going but he still let her talk. "And then one of them mentioned that you dated someone during the time we were well ... not working together and I couldn't help wondering why you never told me about it ..." She finished, lowering her head to avoid his gaze in a way that was so unlike the Jemma he knew.

"Oh ..." He said when he realized just exactly when this happened. "Is that why you seemed ... angry at me when I came back from that mission?" He said with a soft smile as he gently put his hand on her jaw to tilt her chin up and force her to look at him.

"No! well maybe ... yes probably. Kept telling myself it was because you didn't tell me when we've always shared everything and maybe it was ... a bit ... but really I think it was for another more ... immature reason" She said, rolling her eyes at herself. "Jealousy Fitz!" She added when he looked a bit confused.

"Oh ..." He said chuckling. "There really was no reason for it ..." He added to be clear about the fact that he wasn't laughing at her but at himself. "Well, it's nothing to be proud of really. For once, she was the one interested in me to begin with and I ... well ... I gave it a try" He said wincing at his own choice of words. "It was nice at first but I just didn't feel more than friendship and a bit of ... attraction I guess ..." He was the one feeling a bit embarrassed now. They did talk about everything including their relationships but to be honest, they talked mostly about hers since she's had more than him. It had been a while for him and of course now that their relationship was about to change, he felt especially uncomfortable talking about his relationship with someone else. "It was almost over before it really started and we, I mean you and I had so little time to talk at the time that I really didn't feel like wasting your time with that"

"Oh Fitz ... talking to you is never a waste of time, whatever the subject ..."

"... and there was another reason I couldn't really identify myself, that stopped me from telling you and I only very recently understood what it was. It was this morning actually ..." He said and she looked at him expectantly. "She wasn't you Jemma ..." He said and she chuckled.

"Well that's quite ..."

"Of course I had already noticed that very obvious fact ..." He cut her off, rolling his eyes, perfectly understanding why she was laughing. "What I meant is that you know how complicated I am when it comes to dating right? Which is one of the reasons my love life has never been very exciting ... until now. But anyway Gina felt somehow ... familiar and that's what convinced me to take it further. And this morning, when I saw her in the lab, it suddenly became crystal clear ... she's like an ... american version of you. She kind of looks like you, she dresses the same way, her hair looks the same and you even share some personality traits. I mean even your names are close for God's sake! And she's a good person really but she just lacks ... everything that makes you ... you" He said and Jemma had an expression on her face he really couldn't decipher so he decided to keep going. Now that he had started, he might as well finish his story. "So I started dating her because she reminded me of you and I broke up because she wasn't you ... So really I've been actually wanting to be with you for months without even realizing it ... pretty ridiculous right?" He finished, looking down feeling more than sheepish now. He was so incapable of living without her that he had to go looking for a replacement because he wasn't courageous enough to follow her to the field.

"It's really not ..." She said, lifting his own chin with her hand this time and the way she looked at him with- was it longing?- made his breath hitch one more time. "You were just ... smarter than me on this, even if it was just subconsciously" She said with the beginning of a grin he couldn't help reciprocating. As they kept smiling at each other, his own hand went to her cheek, gently caressing it with his thumb and he started to lean in closer.

"I'm known to have outbursts of genius once in a while" He said, his voice gravely, almost a whisper.

"Mmhmm" She answered biting her lips and she was so close he could almost taste the sweetness of the fruity cocktail on her lips. He expected his heart to beat out of his chest any time now.

Of course that's when their waiter cleared his throat to let them know of his presence and inform them that the bar was about to close, very subtly suggesting them to get up and leave. Well there goes your tip, Fitz thought.

"Is it just me or are you starting to feel like the universe doesn't want us to kiss?" He asked with a frustrated sigh as they started moving away from each other and she chuckled.

"Well I don't know much about that waiter but out of all the people it could chose, do you really think the universe would chose to act through someone as annoying as Nathanson?" She answered and he laughed out loud this time.

"Good point"

-0-0-0-

When they got out of the restaurant, Jemma couldn't help smiling at the way Fitz took her hand like it was the most natural thing in the world. She could definitely get used to that. The car was parked only a few blocks away from the bar but somehow, they'd been walking for almost fifteen minutes. Fitz had taken a few obvious detours, he was visibly loathe to let the evening end but then so was she so she didn't say anything and enjoyed the walk quietly. She especially enjoyed it when she involuntarily shivered because of the cold autumn air and Fitz detached his hand from her to put his arm around her shoulder. The kiss he laid on her hair when she put her head on his shoulder made her shiver for a totally different and delicious reason.

It seemed that Fitz was navigating between obvious nervousness and an eagerness to stay as close to her as he could. He'd been about to kiss her at least once, maybe twice earlier tonight but now it seemed like the relaxed and confident Fitz from those moments had been replaced. It was like getting a glimpse of the shy young man he was years ago. As adorable as it was, she didn't feel like waiting for his older self to come back and initiate another kiss. Because then they would probably be back at the base and really what were the chances of them not crossing paths with someone else who would most definitely be nosy and break the mood between them?

Finally, they made it back to the car and she smiled fondly at his gentlemanly manners when he went to open the passenger door for her. But she grabbed his hand before he could do it and he looked at her with an adorably confused expression.

"Look up" She said as she rested against the car facing him with a big smile on her face. He did just that and after a few seconds, once his eyes had started adjusting, a smile started to make its way on his face. They were a bit outside of the city center so there weren't so many street lights around them and since it was a new moon, it was quite easy to see the stars that night. Jemma had always been fascinated by them and tonight they seemed to shine especially bright.

"It's beautiful" He said, his smile growing as both his hands linked with hers again.

"Yes it is" She said but she wasn't looking at the skye anymore. The stars were reflected in his blue eyes and even though she always loved them, they'd never been as beautiful as they were at this exact moment.

"The universe looks kind of friendly to me after all. Don't you think?" She added and when he looked back at her, the smile on his face was almost blinding. And then, just like it was the most natural thing in the world -and maybe it was- it finally happened. They both leaned towards each other in perfect synchrony and their lips met in the middle. For a moment, they didn't even move, almost as if they were waiting for something to interrupt them, a meteorite to fall from the skye or something spectacular of the sort. But it didn't so his hand went to her neck just as hers went around his waist and they relaxed into the kiss. It was soft and full of tenderness and even more perfect than she thought it would be. After a time, his hand moved up, burying itself into her silky hair and the shiver it sent down her spine made her kisses a little hungrier as she took his bottom lip between hers and let out a small contended sigh. She felt him smile against her lips before he moved away from her to rest his forehead against hers.

"Finally" He said with a soft smile that she felt more than she saw as her eyes were still shut. He delicately cupped her cheek with his right hand and brushed his thumb against her lips like he needed to make sure they were true. She leaned her head into his touch like a cat, enjoying the way the tip of his fingers made her skin tingle. Before she had the time to say anything, he captured her lips again and if that first soft kiss had managed to leave her breathless and a little weak in the knees, this one would probably make her melt completely. Fitz had always been a passionate man and she was delighted to discover that it also applied to the way he kissed. Their lips were moving against each other with a hunger she didn't remember ever feeling before. After a moment, his hands descended on her waist to pull her closer to him. The surprising strength of his embrace contrasted with his delicate touch and it was driving her the very good kind of mad. When he divested his languid open mouth kisses to her jaw and neck, she decided she couldn't wait any longer and captured his lips again to deepen the kiss. As it became even more intense, he backed her against the car and her hands went up to his hair. It was shorter than it used to be but there was still enough curls for her to dig into it like she always secretly dreamed of doing even when they were just the best of friends. The feel of his tongue moving in perfect synchrony with hers, his warm hands moving up and down her back and the weight of him pressed against her whole body was so overwhelming that she felt almost dizzy with happiness and pleasure. If she'd been cold earlier, now she felt like her whole body was on fire and she never wanted it to stop.

She didn't know how long they kissed, could have been a few minutes, could have been hours. Sometimes their lips would part in order for them to catch their breath but then she would nibble on his jaw or he would pull her closer and it was enough for their lips to crash against each other again. Until Fitz finally broke the kiss and moved slightly away from her. She let out an embarrassingly loud whimper at the loss of his touch but it was probably better this way. If they kept going like this, she wasn't sure she'd be able to control herself very long.

"Jemma?" He said, so breathless that she couldn't help smiling at this. It was at the same time amusing, adorable and incredibly sexy.

"Yes Fitz?"

"There's something I've been meaning to ask you ..."

"Yes okay I will go on a second date with you ..." She said in fake annoyance and they both chuckled. She had taken her hands away from his neck to be able to look at him properly but they still remained on his chest, curled around the collar of his shirt. Now that they shared this new intimacy, she might never take her hands away from him anymore.

"Well remember that night we talked about at the bar? That time you slept in my room because you couldn't find your keys?"

"Yeah ..." She said, starting to see where he was going.

"Well, I always thought it was just a dream, I mean having you all curled up against me ... must have done something to my mind but now that I know what it feels like to kiss you, it feels familiar and I can't help wondering ..."

"It wasn't a dream Fitz" She cut him off.

"Oh ...." He said, a blush starting to creep up his face. It was such a Fitz thing to do, blushing about the memory of a really chaste kiss after they'd just been snogging in the middle of the street for god knows how long. "So you ... and all these years ago? Why?" He said and she smiled at him warmly.

"Well for a long time, I told myself that it was just an effect of the alcohol but it wasn't. You'd been so sweet and amazing that previous night, taking care of me, cheering me up ... I think it was actually the biggest moment of clarity I've ever had" She sighed wistfully. "If only I'd been courageous enough to wait for you to be completely awake, maybe things would have turned out differently, maybe we could have spared ourselves a few bad relationships along the way ..." She said and he gently took her face in his hands again.

"It's no use having regrets, we're here now and that's what matters. Maybe we weren't ready back then, maybe we needed to go through all this to realize what we meant for each other. Sometimes waiting makes things even better when you finally have them ..."

"You might be right ... but I'm done waiting now ... and I have years of kissing you to catch up on ..." She said tilting her face up to capture his lips in a slow sensual kiss that elicited a low moan from him. "We should ... get back to the base now ..." She said, her voice low and husky when their lips parted.

"Yeah, it's been a long day ... we're both very tired" He said with a soft but slightly disappointed smile as he moved to open the passenger's door for her. Obviously, he misunderstood her again so she grabbed his hand before he had the time to open the door, forcing him to look into her darkened irises. She gave him a warm knowing smile before saying:

"I'm really not Fitz"

-0-0-0-

"Told you we could find ice cream even at this time of night!" Skye said with a grin and Bobbi rolled her eyes.

"It's an ice-cream sandwich Skye, it barely qualifies as ice-cream to me ..."

"You're still eating it though ..." Skye said grinning as they were making their way back to the car.

"Well yeah, now that we went all this way ... but still ... a bit underwhelming don't you think?"

"Maybe ... but it's not like we had anything more interesting to do ..." Skye answered pouting and Bobbi couldn't help smiling.

"Yeah I can't believe everyone went to bed so early on a Saturday ... oh wait that's interesting ..." Bobbi said, stopping herself when she saw something on the other side of the street. Skye turned her gaze towards where Bobbi was looking and saw immediately what caught the attention of the other woman.

"What?!! I thought they'd gone to bed ... I can't believe they went out to have fun and left us at the base to listen to Hunter's drunken stories !" Skye said and Bobbi winced at how loud she was but Fitz and Simmons looked way too focused on each other to notice anything else.

"Hey g ..." Skye started as she lifted her hand to wave at them but Bobbi was quick enough to put her hand on her mouth to stop her and pulled her inside the entrance of a building. Fortunately, they were in a relatively dark street so they managed to remain unseen.

"What the hell Bobbi?" Skye said, whispering even though she didn't really know why she should whisper anyway.

"Look at them ... discreetly ... don't you notice anything?" Bobbi said with a raised eyebrow and a small grin.

So Skye did just that. She looked at them for a few seconds without understanding until they came out from behind a big car and then she saw. Fitz was smartly dressed but not much more than usual but Jemma was wearing a dress for what Skye thought was the first time since she met her. And of course there was the fact that they were holding hands and beaming so brightly at each other that Skye could see it even from afar.

"Oh my god they're on a date!" Skye said, trying to tone down her excitement so they wouldn't hear her.

"Yes they are ... and look at my Fitz, choosing his best shirt and suit all on his own ... he's come so far since the infamous plaid shirts and novelty ties" Bobbi said with a tender smile.

"He does look nice tonight ... oh that's why he's been looking at his watch all day! How long do you think it's been going on?" Skye said, risking another peek out to make sure they didn't loose sight of them.

"It's definitely a first date! They were flirting like teenagers last night, if they'd been together, they would have hidden it better than that trust me ..." Bobbi said chuckling.

"You mean like you and Hunter?" Skye answered grinning and Bobbi rolled her eyes.

"Yeah I guess Hunter's a bit obvious ..."

"Yeah ... but still after all those months of telling us there's nothing between them, I can't believe they're going on a date behind our backs ..."

"What did you expect them to ask for our permission? We're not their moms ..." Bobbi said with a smirk.

"Really? Because you didn't sound like a proud mom at all when you looked at Fitz and his fancy suit ..." Skye said raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah okay ... I do feel a bit proud but you should have seen the way he dressed before I took care of him!" Bobbi said and they both laughed.

"Okay so I guess we should go ... give them some privacy ..." Skye said as she looked towards them again and saw they were stopping in front of what looked to be a SHIELD SUV.

"Yeah we probably should ..." Bobbi said, not making a move to leave.

"Unless ..."

"I don't think it's a really safe neighborhood ..."

"Yeah ... maybe we should stay until they get into the car"

"For their safety of course ..."

"Of course ..." Skye answered. They weren't even trying to hide anymore but at this point Fitzsimmons wouldn't have even noticed a plane crashing next to them anyway.

"Oooh ... he's going to kiss her ..." Skye said trying her best not to sound too excited.

"That's popcorn we should have bought ... awww finally ..."

"Oh my god ... that's better than every romantic comedy I've ever seen ..."

"Yeah ..."

"They're so freaking adorable, so ... oh ..." Skye said, turning to Bobbi whose eyes were just as wide as hers.

"Wow that's ... I didn't expect that from them ..."

"Yeah ... maybe we should leave now ..." Skye said, hiding back behind the wall with Bobbi while the two very oblivious Fitz and Simmons were kissing like they were each other's air.

"Yeah before it turns into another kind of movie ..." Bobbi said and they both chuckled.

"Aren't you rethinking your opinion of Fitz though? Always thought he had some kind of cute innocent boyish charm but that's something else ..."

"Yeah looks like he knows what he's doing ... god ... I definitely don't feel like a mom right now ..."

"Still ... I'm really happy for them" Skye said with a soft smile that Bobbi was quick to reciprocate.

"Me too, they deserve it ... oh they're leaving, we won't have to make a detour to get to our car after all ..."

"Yeah ... looks like Jemma's in for a good night of bad girl shenanigans!"

-0-0-0-

The fifteen minutes drive home was spent mostly in a companionable if only slightly tense silence. It's not like Fitz didn't want to talk but the sight of Jemma in the corner of his eye and the smiles they were exchanging were more than enough to distract him, not to mention all the stolen kisses every time they hit a red light, he couldn't handle any kind of conversation without the risk of crashing their car into a wall. He felt a bit ridiculous being so worked up by their snogging cession, however glorious it was, it's not like he was a horny teenager anymore. But then again, they'd been through years of non assumed sexual tension and kissing Jemma had proven to be the most exhilarating experience of his life. All this time, he thought getting a PHD and entering SHIELD academy at sixteen was his biggest achievement but how wrong was he! Only now he was realizing that's it's been just a means to the ultimate achievement of his life: getting to know Jemma Simmons, befriend her and make her fall in love with him.

-0-0-0-

"Tonight was ... really nice" Fitz said with a small smile, shifting his weight from one leg to the other like a cat. Fortunately when they made it to the base, it was late enough for them not to cross paths with anyone between the elevator and Jemma's room. But now that she had opened her door, he was at a loss about what to do. She had suggested that she didn't want tonight to end after their date but did he really understand correctly?

"It was more than nice Fitz, and I'm glad we didn't wait until tomorrow ..." She said with a flirtatious smile as she leant slightly against the door frame in what she hoped was an inviting attitude.

"Told you ..." He said with a bit of a childish grin but didn't make a single move.

For someone so smart, he really was surprisingly bad at understanding not so subtle signs. So Jemma decided to take matter into her own hands.

"I never doubted your genius ..." She said as she moved closer to him and took his face in her hands so their lips would meet in the middle. He responded immediately, putting his arms around her waist and bringing her close. This kiss was different from the ones they shared until now. They were still in a perfect synchrony of lips and tongues and small pleasured moans but it was like they had reached an intensity their bodies wouldn't be able to contain any longer. They didn't care where they were anymore and even though, in the corner of their minds there was still the possibility of someone walking in on them, they felt completely incapable of moving away from each other.

After a minute or so, Fitz's hands slid under Jemma's jacket to rest on her lower back and when she let out his name in a breathless sigh between kisses, it sent a rush of warmth through his whole body. His hands descended even lower of their own volition, feeling the soft curves of her body and bringing her even closer. That's when she gasped audibly and moved away from him.

It felt like a bucket of iced water in the face and he suddenly felt stupid for letting himself get carried away so fast.

"I'm-I'm sorry Jemma, I thought that you ... and I got ..." He started, blushing furiously as he stepped away even further but she didn't let him.

"Fitz stop! That was perfectly alright ..." She said looking down at his hands with a small grin. She had always admired his hands while he was working, so long and delicate, like a pianist, but he was always so skittish when it came to physical contact that she never really had the opportunity to realize how nice they could feel on her skin and she would no longer deprive herself of this privilege.  
"I just thought we should get in and close the door ... have a little more privacy ..." She added as she laced her finger in his belt loop to bring him closer and he looked at her with wide eyes, clearly unsure of what to do now. They would really need to work on his confidence. "... unless you wanted to have sex in the hallway ..." She said, looking up at him through her lashes and if it was possible, his eyes grew even wider.

"What? I-hum- no of course not but ... so do you want to ... with me?" He said and she couldn't help rolling her eyes fondly at him and even if she didn't say it, her expression clearly meant "Don't you think it's pretty obvious?"

"Yes Fitz ... actually I don't think I ever wanted anything else more than this ..." She said and maybe it was what he needed to hear because his eyes turned softer and he put his arms around her waist again.

"I feel the same" He said before leaning down for a soft kiss as he gently pushed her inside. They blindly backed away into the room and managed to close the door without parting their lips from one another for a single second. Fitz's confidence was back and Jemma soon found herself drowning in a sea of pleasure as he plastered her lips and neck and every bit of skin available to him with languid kisses. Their jackets soon found themselves on the ground and as Fitz's hands were finding their way back over her body, hers went for the buttons of his shirt. When she was done, she couldn't resist splaying her hands all over his chest like she'd secretly been wanting to do since she saw him shirtless a few weeks ago. But after only a few seconds, he stopped kissing her and took her hands in his. She didn't even try to fight the small whimper she let out at the loss of contact. If he kept stopping them like this, she might not survive the night.

"Jemma?" He said in a breathless low voice that made her heart skip a beat.

"Yes ..."

"Your hands are freezing!" He said with a small grin, his accent a bit thicker than usual and she wondered when it had stopped being funny and started being so sexy.

"Oh ..." She said beaming back and put her hands on her cheeks to acknowledge the fact that yes, her hands were terribly cold. Which was a stark contrast to her face and her whole body which felt like they were on fire. "They're like little ice buckets, aren't they?" She said as he took them prisoners and tried to warm them with a softness that made her heart melt a bit. If he didn't manage to warm them with his hands and hot breath, surely the look in his eyes would be enough.

"Do you think you can brave it?" She said with a tone of defiance in her voice and a small smile made its way on his face.

"I'll do my best to power through" He said and didn't give her time to answer before he kissed her again. As they were backing away towards the bed, she pushed his shirt off his shoulders and he took it off the rest of the way before putting his arms around her waist again. After one last scorching kiss, he took one more step and held the small of her back as she fell backwards on the bed. The delighted giggle barely had the time to get out of her mouth before he fell on top of her and the world suddenly reduced itself to this bed.


	12. Epilogue

The next morning Fitz was woken up by the Sun hitting his face. It was a nice sensation as it's been a while since he'd been woken up by anything other than his alarm clock or a really bad nightmare. But that night was the most peaceful one he's had in months. As he slowly started to remember the events of the previous day and night, he finally realized he was in Jemma's room, on the base and several meters underground where there wasn't a window. For a few seconds, he had the silly notion that maybe he was so happy that it made the Sun shine underground ... until he realized that it was just Jemma's lamp mimicking the sunlight.

So nothing quite so magical really, although the sight he was greeted with when he turned around was probably the closest thing to magic he'd ever seen. Jemma was all curled up against him, her hair spread out on the pillow partly covering her face but he could still see the small smile tugging at her lips as she slept. Almost like she could feel that he was looking at her, she moved even closer to him, entangling her leg with his and he couldn't help sighing in contentment.

It seemed that Jemma wasn't far from waking up because that small sound was enough to slowly make her open her eyes as well. It took her a few seconds to focus but when she met Fitz's adoring gaze, she gave him a wide sleepy smile and though he always loved seing her smile, Fitz thought this specific type of smile might become his all time favorite.

"Hi" She said, her voice still sleepy as well.

"Hi" He said and he leaned in to give her a light kiss on the lips, wondering if he would ever get used to that.

"I was afraid last night was all just a very nice dream ... I'm really glad it's not" She said, moving closer to him and he almost automatically put his arm around her shoulder so she could rest her head on his chest. It wasn't the first time she'd done that but it was definitely a first without a single layer of clothes between them and once again, he sighed contentedly. His heart might burst any second at how utterly happy he felt and it didn't bother him one bit.

"Me too" Was all he was able to vocalize, as sleepy as he still was, even though he felt like "glad" was really quite the understatement of the century.

The sensation was so nice that they almost fell back asleep but there was a question at the back of his mind since the previous day and he had to vocalize it.

"Jemma?"

"Yeah?" She answered against his chest and her warm breath sent such a delicious shiver all over his body that he almost forgot his question in favor of bringing her lips to his.

"What do we tell the others?"

"What do you mean?" Jemma answered, looking up at him with a confused expression on her face.

"About us? I don't know ... should we make it ... official?" He said, wincing at the term he used and she smiled fondly.

"Well obviously Hunter knows so it won't be long before every one else does I guess ... But honestly I don't think we have tell anyone anything, they'll just notice that things changed and make their own conclusions ..." She said matter of factly before another type of smile made its way on her face. "... I'm way too content to think about anyone else right now" She added as she started to draw aimless patterns on his chest with her fingers.

He smiled widely at this and he thought he must have been mad for not kissing her at this moment but he had to go to follow his train of thought. "What about Coulson? Isn't it against some kind of regulations?" He said vaguely gesturing between the both of them.

"Oh ..." She said frowning. "I honestly didn't think about that ... We've been waiting for eight years, I wasn't gonna let some rules keep us apart Fitz ..." She added and somehow it felt like the biggest declaration of love he's heard from her. She did tell him she loved him the previous day -several times- but hearing this from the woman who'd always loved rules more than life itself, felt strangely elating. And this time he had to kiss her. It was soft and sleepy but full of love and it left them both grinning like idiots.

"And SHIELD is not the same anymore ... I don't think Coulson will care as long as we keep working well together" Jemma added after a few seconds of gazing at each other.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah ... but let's not worry about this now. I don't plan on seing anyone else today anyway, I want you all to myself" She said with a seductive smile as she turned around to lay on her side.

"Well funny you should mention it ..." He started, smiling back. "... because I was thinking the exact same thing about you ..." He finished, snaking his arm behind her back and suddenly pulling her to him so she ended up on top of him, grinning even wider.

"I don't know what you have in mind Fitz but I was mostly thinking along the lines of watching DVDs, maybe going for a walk in the park or ..." She started but he interrupted her by leaning up to capture her lips in a searing kiss. He was now fully awake and he was well decided on starting this day the same way he finished the last one. From the way she sighed when he let his hands roam over her body, she wouldn't be too hard to convince.

"You make a very compelling case" She said breathlessly when they finally broke apart. "I don't have any interesting dvds to watch anyway!" She said and they both giggled. Fitz couldn't even begin to make a list of all the reasons he loved her but if he really had to, one of the first lines would probably be about how they've always been so comfortable around each other. They were always there for each other in bad times and in good ones, they shared pretty much everything and nothing ever felt awkward. And if he was glad of one thing, it was that this bond they shared naturally adapted to this new side of their relationship. When he started realizing his feelings for his best friend had changed, one of the things that probably stopped him from admitting it was that he thought it might be strange to date her. But they haven't even been together for a day and even though he felt like he would never get used to it, in the best possible way, it also felt like it's always been that way.

"God ... I love you so much Jemma!" He almost cried out, looking deep into her eyes and her giggle turned to a soft smile.

"I love you too" She said and kissed his jaw. "so" and then his cheek "so" his nose "so" his other cheek "much" and finally pressed her lips against his. Her kiss was such a perfect mix of passion and tenderness that he felt himself drowning into the sensation. But just as their kisses were getting more urgent and definitely starting to turn into something more, they heard a knock on the door.

"Jemma are you there? You ready for our training session?" Skye said through the door and they looked at each other with the same thought written very clearly all over their face.

-0-0-0-

"it's not the universe Fitz, it's just Skye!" Jemma said with a slight roll of the eyes before he could say a thing and even though he let a loud frustrated sigh, he couldn't help grinning a bit at how well she read his mind.

She very reluctantly moved away from him and off the bed in search of her panties and the closest tee shirt she could find. When she turned around, he was sitting against the headboard, the sheet low on his waist, just barely covering his most private parts and looking at her with a wide smile.

"What?" She asked with a small grin of her own, wondering if he knew the effect he had on her, casually laying naked in her bed.

"Nothing just ... I don't think I'll ever get used to seing you like this ..." He said, keeping his voice low to make sure Skye wouldn't hear him. This, combined with the small flirtatious grin on his face made the sight before her just that much more appealing.

"Well I certainly hope you won't ..." She answered, blushing prettily. And she would most likely never get used to him looking at her like that. She didn't know if it was the amazing night they spent together or something else that gave him such confidence, but it certainly looked really good on him. "Okay I'll just tell her I'm too tired to train with her and then we can go back to ... our own training session" It was his time to blush and she couldn't help leaning in for a small kiss before going for the door with the firm intent of getting rid of Skye as fast as she could.

"Coming Skye ..." She cried out through the door as she tried to compose herself before opening. She opened it just enough so Skye would only see her and nothing else -well no one else actually- in her room.

"Hello Skye ..." She said with a small smile, trying her best to look and sound sleepy like Skye had actually only interrupted her sleep and nothing else.

"Hello Jemma!" The young woman answered, sounding strangely cheery and fresh considering how early it was on a Sunday morning.

"I'm sorry Skye, I didn't get much sleep these past few nights and I completely forgot about this. Do you mind if we reschedule for another time?"

"Oh that's too bad. Did you have trouble sleeping? You should try herbal tea before going to bed" Skye answered. Cheery on a Sunday morning and not the slightest sexual innuendo when she was serving it to her on a silver platter, something was definitely wrong.

"Yeah I'll try that, thank you Skye ..." Jemma answered, trying to close the door but Skye stopped her with, again, an innocent smile.

"We could do something else if you want. We could watch DVDs in your room, it's been a while since we've done that ..."

"Actually, I was kind of planning on going back to sleep for a bit and ..."

"Oh really? But you're the one who always says it's a waste of time to sleep late ..." Skye answered, trying her best to hide the small grin that was tugging at her lips. She knows, Jemma told herself. She didn't know how, maybe they weren't as discreet as they thought when they got out of base, maybe Hunter told her but whatever it was, she knew. It was the only explanation for her actually being up so early and so insistant on actually getting into Jemma's room.

As she was thinking about what would be the most efficient way of getting rid of Skye to get back to Fitz, she heard a rustling of sheets coming from behind her. She assumed that Fitz got out of bed to try and find his clothes in case Skye somehow managed to get into the room until she felt his arms encircling her waist from behind and her own eyes widen in surprise. God, she hoped he actually found at least some of his clothes.

"Hello Skye!" He said in a casual tone, like it was a completely ordinary situation.

"Fitz" She answered, her grin now threatening to split her face in two.

"Jemma actually has other plans for today if you don't mind" He added, snuggling his head into Jemma's shoulders and as he got even closer to him, she could feel that he only had his boxer shorts on. Well, that's something I suppose, Jemma thought and she was much too distracted by the nice feeling of Fitz's warm body against her and Skye's delighted smile to actually speak a single word so she just let him deal with it. And he was just too sexy when he was all cocky like that for her to stop him.

"Sure, no problem. I understand. So I guess your date went well last night?" Skye answered with that slightly annoying grin.

"Very well indeed. But how did you ...?" He started but she cut him off.

"Oh you know, there were a few subtle signs like looks you've exchanged, you looking at your watch all day or you know ... you two making out in the middle of the street!"

"Oh ..." They both said in unison.

"Yeah ..." Skye answered. "Also you should know that Koenig saw you on the security camera so if you wanted to keep this a secret, well ... too bad. But the good news is Coulson knows and he couldn't care less!"

"Oh ... well ... hum thanks for letting us know Skye ..." Jemma answered, trying her best to fight the blush that was probably taking half her face now at the idea that someone saw their rather heated kisses from last night.

"Okay then I'll let you get back to sleep" Skye said as she started to walk away and just before she turned the corner, she looked back with an appreciative grin towards Fitz. "And Jemma, maybe you'd better train with Bobbi anyway ... she really knows how to get people in shape!"

-0-0-0-

"She really does!" Jemma said, turning around to give Fitz an appreciative once over before locking her hands behind his neck once she closed and locked her door.

"Yeah ... well you really don't need to get in any other shape than the one you are in right now" He said, holding her even closer and she giggled happily. Fitz flirting might be the most adorable and delicious thing she's ever witnessed.

"So about those plans for the day ..."

"Oh yeah ... almost forgot ..." He said affecting a casual tone as he detached himself from her. For a second, she was a bit disappointed to think that maybe his plans didn't involve them being so close but then he proceeded to lift her from the ground and carried her to the bed bridal style.

After they both toppled into bed laughing, he turned around so he was hovering over her on one of his forearms. His tone was incredibly soft again when he said: "You know ... we might be living in the most dangerous times we've ever known but I think I'm happier than I've ever been so I'm just planning on enjoying every moment of carelessness we can have together."

"That sounds like a really good plan" She said as she brought him down for a tender kiss. It was true that they were living dangerous times and they would probably have to face trials both in their relationship and as agents of SHIELD, but they would always have each other. Whatever might happen, Jemma knew now that the love they'd been sharing for eight years would always make them come back to each other in the end. Even when they'd been stubborn enough to actually let SHIELD separate them, they found their way back home and it only served to make their relationship even more beautiful.

As she lost herself in his arms, she thought that whatever Fitz might have to say about it, she would forever be grateful to the Universe for bringing young, shy, brilliant and overall wonderful Leopold Fitz in her life eight years ago.


End file.
